Bittersweet Life
by sandys18
Summary: Set after season 3 finale - Klaus wants get back to his body by any means, and when he does his lies keeps complicating things further between Caroline and him. (on hiatus)
1. Just a kiss

**Just a Kiss**

The Salvatore drawing room was not a new place for Caroline, it was a room Caroline had been in for many a times, but as she waited sitting on the abandoned black couch everything felt unfamiliar and unreal.

She was there, but her mind travelled too often back to the moment she said goodbye to Tyler, to the way she ran off without turning back.

"_You're going to be fine Caroline" she remembered him looking into his eyes._

"_No, It's not me that I am worried about" It didn't even occur to her that Klaus being dead would affect her as well and even if it had occurred to her she wouldn't have cared as much._

"_There's no point, I am a lost cause, but you're strong. You have a beautiful future ahead of you. When you make it though this, tell my mother I left town like I was supposed to. Ok?" he was trying to reassure her, but nothing he had said or could have said would have been able to make her feel better._

_He leaned into kiss her, cupping her face fervently, she grabbed him and kissed his lips selfishly with the every bit of energy, passion and love she could gather for it was to be their last kiss, the last time she would ever be able to be in his arms. She hung onto him not wanting to let him go._

_However much she kissed it didn't seem enough, it could never be enough. The way he kissed back, the way he held her, felt different but definitely felt more right than it ever did, felt more real and warm than it ever did. _

_She felt his breathing relax as he rested his chin upon her shoulder, as though he was ready to give up anything, just to savor their moment together, as though he finally had what he had been yearning forever. She too relaxed at his presence which surrounded her._

_Suddenly he grunted loudly in pain and coiled, almost crumbling to the ground._

"_Do you feel anything?" he turned around and asked, and she could feel her whole world crashing down at those words for it was beginning, the time that she so desperately hoped would never come was arising._

"_No, I feel fine" regretfully she shook her head. She wished she felt the same pain as him, she wished her fate was to be the same as his, she wished their roles were reversed so that she could take away his pain and she wouldn't have to be the one to live through it all._

"_I need you to get out of here, I don't want you to watch me die" He was trying to hide his pain but she could see it._

"_No, I am not leaving" She was hell-bent on staying for he was panting, struggling and she couldn't just let him go through it alone, "I am staying" she insisted again for he needed her._

"_No, you run!" he stooped even more to the ground; his eyes begin to alter into the most atrocious colors. _

"_No!" how could she go, she had to be there with him._

"_Or, I'll make you run" His eyes were now fixed on a dark shade of amber as he spitefully persisted that she should leave._

"_I'm not leaving" It should not end like this, he should not be on his own at such a moment, she figured. _

_She stood up seeing him change into his werewolf form. If screaming would have helped him somehow she would have screamed, if there was something, anything she could have done she would have done it, but looking down at him knowing that there was no hope, no other choice than to let him go she could do nothing but let her tears fall. _

_She paused for a second more, waited for him to say something to make her stay._

"_Go!" He shouted as his bones twisted and cracked making bizarre noises. _

_With one more gentle look back at him and she ran halfheartedly, regretting it every step she took all the while blaming herself for being a coward and an idiot. _

She was trying to be tough, hold her tears as her wounding memories dwelled so evilly on her mind, but she failed for her tears would always sneak out the more she tried to keep them locked inside.

Damon all of a sudden went rushing out of the house and Caroline quickly rubbed her eyes and face to wipe off any traces of tears.

Stefan sat at the far corner of the couch, holding his head.

"How is she doing?" Caroline made sure she swallowed her own sorrows before she talked to Stefan about Elena.

He turned, and sighed, "She's still confused about everything, doesn't want to speak to any of us" his face was furrowed in despair.

"Do you think I should go talk to her? Should I call Jeremy and ask him to talk to her again?" it was hard to look unaffected by all that had happened, though her face didn't give out, her voice cracked unable to keep up the strong front alive.

"Are you alright Caroline?" Stefan was his usual self, unselfish and willing to put a hold on his own troubles to attend to others.

"Yes" she said, but her head waved '_No'_.

Caroline pretended to look fine, she wanted to smile, instead she began to cry.

Stefan slowly slid next to her; he wrapped her into a warm hug. "It's alright Caroline, you can cry"

She released her tears; let them fall carelessly onto his shoulder as she rested her head on him. He too held on to her more closely for It was something they both had needed, she felt. They both in a way had had no one else to hold on; to tell their troubles, had no one else who would truly understand how they felt. Her mother may have understood her somewhat but she didn't know the right things to say, Matt may have understood her but he was too desolated to offer her any words of solace for he thought what had happened to Elena was solely his fault, thus she ended up consoling him making sure he had a clear conscience when he woke up the next day, and Bonnie who had been her confidant most of her life, alas was nowhere to be found.

Stefan slowly pulled away, merely to smear her tears, "It will be alright Caroline, I have seen the deaths of so many people I've loved, they died in my arms, in front of me and there was always nothing I could do about it. You will get through this"

"I don't want to" she cried, hiding her face in her hands.

"You have to, and you will" he gripped her shoulders strongly, trying to look into her faltered eyes.

The shrilling sound of the Salvatore house bell rang, shattering the moment of tranquility Caroline finally seemed to have found.

"Wait here", Stefan slowly stepped up to the door.

"I am really glad you are here, Caroline and Elena need you" He exhaled noisily.

"Oh... they do... Do they?" the so cynical so unlike Bonnie tone, made Caroline run over to them.

"Bonnie? Where were you?" Caroline only managed to get an annoyed, raised eye brow from her witch friend as a reply.

"Bonnie, what's going on?" Stefan was as surprised at her reaction as Caroline.

"I was just out saving you all, the way I knew how" there was some kind of darkness that loomed around Bonnie's aura and neither Caroline nor Stefan could quite understand what it was exactly.

Out of nowhere Tyler who was supposed to have departed appeared behind Bonnie and he was well and truly alive.

It was as if Caroline saw the most iridescent orb of light burst through the doorway, for she smiled vibrantly as she somehow dragged Tyler inside the house and embraced him as firmly as possible.

"How?.. How is he still…" dumbfound Stefan blurred, his feet glued to the floor stunned.

"He's not Tyler, He's Klaus" said Bonnie.

Caroline heard her, but she had no time to waste trying to comprehend Bonnie's babbles for she was much too much engrossed in the fact that her lover had return.

Lethargically Bonnie walked inside the house and repeated what she said earlier "Caroline, he's not Tyler, he's Klaus… I did a spell to swap their bodies"

It took a while for her brain to process Bonnie's words but when it finally did, Caroline at once looked up at the man she had been embracing. He was smiling wickedly at her, his arms still draped around her.

"He's not Tyler?" Caroline pushed his hands and quickly drew herself away from him. She walked backwards staring at the man who indeed looked like Tyler.

"Sorry to disappoint you love" he walked between them into the house haughtily as if it was his own. The way he spoke, his overconfident walk truly did resemble Klaus yet still it was not an easy concept to take in for Caroline.

Caroline's eyes blinked as if they were trying to wake her up from a nightmare.

"Bonnie what did you do?" Stefan's confused glances went back and forth between Tyler cum Klaus and Bonnie.

"I couldn't let Ric Kill Klaus, it would mean all of you would die and so would my mother, so I switched their bodies, incase Ric killed Klaus, he would actually be killing Tyler, thus saving all your asses" like a heartless drone Bonnie started to explain.

Unable to hold her rage, Caroline pounced towards Bonnie. "How could you do this Bonnie?" however, her vampire fangs couldn't reach Bonnie as she had wished for Klaus had caught her from behind, his hands had grabbed her by her waist.

His breath fell upon her cheek, and she struggled to shed the bewildering emotions that sprung from the fact he was modeled like Tyler but behaved like Klaus.

"Don't be so hasty, sweetheart, she has done all of you a huge favor" he seized her even more tightly, his cheek placed on hers.

She looked back piercingly hoping to find Klaus's dreaded face but discovering that his face didn't look what it ought to look like she froze not knowing how to retort. Nevertheless it only took one more bigheaded scoff from him for her to realize that she should just push him off of her, and she with a bit of strength did just that.

Though she shot another fiery glance at him his smirk never left his face.

"If I hadn't done what I did all of you would've been dead by now… If Damon can turn my mother into a vampire just to save Elena, this is the least I could do to save all of you" how Bonnie so simply talked of the whole body swap situation, how she talked of sacrificing Tyler's life as it was something as trivial as choosing apples over oranges was difficult for Caroline to digest, however permissible her logic may have been.

The only sound they heard was the sound of Bonnie's blunt heels clunking against the hardwood floor loudly as she paced back towards the door to leave, "Before you go all nuts on me again, you should know, that Tyler was fully aware of what was going to happen…. and he did it all because of you Caroline" her face didn't bear an ounce of compassion nor regret as she began to walk further towards the door.

"No! Bonnie you can't just say all this and just leave! You have to fix this somehow!" Caroline caught up to Bonnie and stood blocking her. Hearing he did it all willingly just to save her, made Caroline's heart ache more, miss him more. She thought it would have been easier if she hadn't gotten to know none of it.

"Fix what Caroline? For all we know there could be just ashes left in that coffin and Tyler's soul may be floating somewhere on the other side" Bonnie turned to look away from Caroline's staggered face.

"You mean to say that I would be stuck in this body forever? I rather go back to my own body, though this one certainly has its perks," Klaus peeked sneakily at Caroline, with a boastful grin dominating Tyler's face which he had taken over, he gently ran the back of his index finger on the corner of his lips, as if to show that he still had the taste of something he quite enjoyed lingering on them.

Caroline quivered uneasily at his gesture for only then she realized the sweet moment that she had thought she would remember forever, the most passionate kiss she thought she had ever shared with Tyler could most probably be a kiss between her and Klaus, and the mere thought of something so preposterous made her silky skin ruby like for she was completely mortified.

"Oh cheer up love it was just a kiss, I could have done much worse" he replied to her embarrassed and face, though both of them knew darn well it was no mere kiss.

"You kissed him?" Stefan seemed completely appalled and so was Bonnie.

Caroline shrugged innocently at her friends, and passed a quick frown at Klaus. "How was I supposed to know he was him… not Tyler?"

"Hey witchy, what're you doing here? Took you long enough to come check up on your friends" Damon barged in from the back. He halted his stride for seeing Tyler, "I see that Blondie has gotten her boyfriend back".

"He is not my boyfriend!" Caroline shoved Damon and walked herself back to the couch all the while feeling Klaus's eyes staring at her.

"Bonnie has swapped Klaus' body with Tyler's" Stefan followed the teed off Caroline leaving his brother to figure out the rest by himself.

Caroline sat, still keenly watching and listening to their conversation, while Stefan split his interest between the gang and the door that led to Elena's room.

"What? What are you up to Bon Bon?" Damon circled around a very watchful Bonnie while he examined the young hybrid that according to his brother was embodying the thousand year old Klaus.

"Thought you could get rid of me that easily?" Klaus took a moment to flash his sarcastic smile at Damon, and again gave his attention to the blonde vampire that had now walked away from them.

"So it is you? You are still alive then" he shook his head, as if nothing could be more tiresome as finding out that once more they had failed, and evil had prevailed.

"Well, I am not truly alive until I get back into my own body again" there was so much of zeal in his words as he looked around at Bonnie for a respond.

"Hate to burst your bubble Klausy, but I don't think there's anything left of your old body," Damon smiled elatedly for he thought it was at least some kind of a victory that Klaus still wasn't his whole self.

"You think, but you don't know, right? … You didn't actually see it turn it in to ashes, did you?" Klaus took a step forward as though he was about to challenge Damon to a fight.

"I did what I have to, to save my friends, if you want to bring back what is left of your body, be my guest... "Bonnie left slamming the door as angry as she came in.

"I will if someone tells me where it is" Klaus muttered looking at the closed door.

"I'll come with you, I know where your body is" Caroline's voice shot across the room, as Stefan's overcast features cringed even more. There was no doubt in Klaus's mind that Caroline's enthusiasm to get his body had nothing much to do with him and that it had all to do with bringing Tyler back, yet his dim heart wanted to believe that though it may be a little as a grain of sand, she secretly had more than Tyler's best interest at heart.

"Even if you get your body back, you'll have to say goodbye to any plans you might still have about making your hybrid army" Damon walked his hands tugging his jacket down from the inside of his pockets. "Thanks to your baby sis, Elena is now a vampire" he turned around to stare at Klaus's frustrated face.

"You are lying" Klaus's eyes widened and he moved fast towards the eldest Salvatore.

"Am I?" Damon stood firm, not showing any sign of hesitancy, for one Klaus was not Klaus anymore and the next it was not in Damon's nature to back down.

Sound of a window break, and a large thud afterwards, took everyone's attention.

"What was that?" Damon was the first to rush off in to the way of Elena's room.

"Elena!" not a second after Stefan had followed him.

"She's gone" Caroline heard Stefan shout from Elena's room.

"I'm going after her," Damon darted towards the backdoor; his brother ensued.

Caroline didn't have to think twice about going along with them "I am coming with you "She zipped up her jacket as if she was getting ready for a battle.

"Caroline, let them go find Elena. Let us both go and get my body back" Klaus's hand reached for her shoulder to make her turn back.

"No I have to help Elena first! Your body is not going anywhere anyway" Caroline tossed his hand that almost landed on her shoulder.

"Who knows may be Rebekah and Elijah is taking it as we speak," Klaus flashed off to get ahead of her and placed himself in front of her.

Caroline stopped, trying to calculate the probability of something like that happening, "No! I have to find Elena first, she was there for me and I have to be there for her" she decided that she had to help her friend first, whatever the probability could be.

Klaus nodded as if he was making a mental note on one more thing that he loved about Caroline.

She got into the back of the car, and Klaus got in from the other door and secured the spot next to her with a grin. Caroline narrowed her eyes at him, to show whatever he was up to would not be liked by her not even the least.

From the driver's seat Damon glanced to look at the annoying hybrid and the very annoyed vampire at the back. "You're coming too? This is going to be one weird search party"

"Stop talking and Just drive! Don't you have to go look for your brother's girl friend, that you have the hots for" mockingly Klaus ordered. Both brothers glared at Klaus, their jaws clenching at the same time.

"Oh did I hurt someone's feelings?" Klaus acted all innocent and naïve.

"Jerk" Caroline whispered to herself. Being the young vampire she was she had forgotten that whatever low whispers she would say can be heard by the hybrid next to her, who unbeknownst to her had furtively squirmed hearing her.

"Why do we have to go in the car anyway couldn't we just run after her? shouldn't we just split up and try to find her? Should I take my car or something?" Caroline held on tightly to the seat as Damon began to drive off as fast as he possibly can.

"Stop asking questions Barbie!" Damon stepped on the accelerator with more force.

"She's still trying to hold on to her humanity, she must be looking for her brother, she wouldn't have gone that far sweet heart" Klaus explained to Caroline who rolled her eyes for she didn't quite seemed to like all the attention he was giving her.

"We need the car to get his body back, after we find Elena, that's why we are taking the car." Stefan flashed a rare smile at Caroline.

"You would do that?" Caroline brought her hands together like if she was about to clap like a child who had been told they were about to take her to Disney Land.

"Well we can't look at wolf boy over here knowing that it's actually the evil hybrid… " Damon took a sharp turn to the right.

"He's a hybrid too you know?" Klaus corrected looking at his reflection from the window next to him.

His reply for some reason made Caroline beam, even laugh out loud somewhat. May be it had to do with the fact he pointed out the error in Damon's smart remark or may be it made her feel somewhat proud about her boy friend, nevertheless for whatever the reason she laughed, it made Klaus turn to her and grin even more for it was him that had made her cheerful.

When her eyes fell shortly upon Klaus' face, she looked though she ate something disgusting that she just couldn't digest. "But why do I have to be in the back seat with him?" Caroline's arms went up in the air as she talked about the great tragedy she had to face.

Damon searched for Caroline from the rearview mirror. "Do you really think we could sit together without trying to kill each other?"

"He's got a fair point love... just stay right here, where you belong, with me that is," Klaus helped strapped Caroline's seat belt which she had disregarded, for her life clearly would not be in risk in anyway if it was not strapped.

Damon made a vomiting sound to which Stefan let out a much muted, low sneer.

Caroline barely managed to stop herself from screaming. "Oh just..."

"Just what love?" Klaus raised his eyebrows attentively, his head slightly slanted as he anxiously waited for her to answer him.

"Nothing," it was a going to be a long ride and it would be better to keep quiet Caroline thought.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story...**


	2. Along the Way

**Along the Way**

For once, Caroline started to like the idea of Mystic falls being a small town, for there was not that much of a distance from the Salvatore house to the Gilbert's. If they had been miles apart, Caroline was more than sure she would have jumped out of the car, as it was not so easy to keep a hold on to one's sanity, listening to Damon's jabber and sensing the ever ogling eyes of the hybrid beside her. However, above all, the most disturbing aspect of the whole situation, which Caroline couldn't adapt to was, hearing and seeing Klaus's bothersome witty charm coming from Tyler's lips; for it truly did not look good on the eighteen year old.

"You look like you are caught up in some kind of a deep thought love. Care to enlighten us about what is it that had taken over your thoughts at the moment?" He rotated slightly to meet her face better.

She scoffed with a roll of the eyes.

"What is it love?" Damon did a very poor mimicry of Klaus's accent, at which Klaus disapprovingly shook his head, while Caroline rolled her eyes yet again.

Stefan was not even the least interested in any of it, for he was pressing the keypad of his mobile again and again trying to reach Jeremy.

"He's not picking up his phone" Stefan tried dialing the number once more and put the phone back in his ear.

"It's ok, brother. We're not that far, anyways" with one more turn to the left, Damon hit the brakes on the car, stopping right before the Gilbert household.

The Salvatore brothers had run out of the car, and was banging on the door and ringing the door bell even before Caroline could take her seat belt off.

"This stupid seat belt! Ugh!" in the haste of things, Caroline was struggling to un-strap the belt.

"Let me help you sweet heart" Klaus moved closer.

"I don't need your help!" Caroline tugged the strap and made herself free. She without waiting for Klaus to respond ran up to the door and waited for it to open along with the Salvatores.

"Jeremy, are you there?" Caroline peeped through the window next to her looking for a sign of Jeremy.

"I can hear them. I'll go around the back and check." Damon was just about to go when they heard Jeremy's footsteps approaching the door.

"It's nice that you guys finally decided to show up" Jeremy said as soon as he saw them.

"We're sorry, we were…" Stefan guiltily answered.

"We got little bit distracted by a small situation, thanks to your ex-girlfriend" Damon added, and walked freely into the house passing Jeremy.

"What situation?" It didn't take long for Jeremy to notice the fourth person that popped out from the dark and stood behind Caroline, "Tyler? He's alive? I thought he was..." Jeremy stood, one foot placed outside and the other inside the house, not able to understand how Tyler was alive, nor why Caroline's face seemed so miserable even though her boyfriend was back.

"That would be the situation we were talking about, we'll explain it to you in detail later" Damon's voice faded deeper into the house as he went looking for Elena.

"So where is she? We were trying to call you, why didn't you call us?" Stefan too had walked inside the house.

"She's in the kitchen eating like she hasn't eaten for days, I thought when you guys said, we'll take care of her, so you go ahead and have some rest… that you would actually take care of her" Jeremy followed Stefan into the kitchen.

Caroline marched forward faster as the rest of them towards the Kitchen, largely to get far away as possible from Klaus.

"Elena, are you alright?" Stefan had taken the chair next to her. He was trying to get Elena's attention but she was too busy digging into a bowl and shoving in a spoonful of something inside her mouth.

"We'll go back home as soon as you've finished eating" Damon stood over the table watching Elena as she gulped her food.

"No! I don't want to" Elena put the spoon down glaring at the two brothers crossly.

"No, I won't let you take her, you promised me that you would take care of her, but I don't think you can" Jeremy stood sternly.

"She needs to complete her transformation, learn to control her emotions first" Klaus stood leaning back on to one of the kitchen cupboards, not that far away from where Caroline was.

"She's my sister Tyler, I will take care of her" Jeremy seemed though he would have taken down all four of them if he actually had the strength to do so.

"Tyler?" Klaus leered realizing Jeremy still had no idea who he really was.

"Elena, you have to come with us. You being here can be dangerous to Jeremy, he can't wear his ring anymore to protect himself, and you know that right?" Caroline swiftly spoke wanting to block out Klaus's wretched laughter.

"No! I won't come with you, I won't do anything to Jeremy, he's my brother… this is all your fault, I won't go back!" Elena threw her hands at whatever that was on the table, making them shatter and splatter all over the kitchen floor.

"I'll take care of her, I'll wear the ring!" Jeremy dug in to his pocket and pulled out the Gilbert family ring.

"No! Jeremy, don't... "Elena stood up.

"Yes Jeremy, wear it! Let's go Caroline! He'll take care of his sister, we don't need to waste any more of our precious time standing around here" Klaus reached for Caroline's hand.

Everyone for a moment turned and glared at Klaus, hearing his narcissistic comment, while Caroline swatted his hand that was attempting to take hers.

"You're not so bright are you? Did you not see what happened to your history teacher?" Damon went over and grabbed the ring from Jeremy's hand, much to the frustration of Jeremy.

"Then we'll have to stay here with you… I think it's better that way anyway" Stefan's brooding face crumpled as he tried to figure out whether there were any pit falls to the solution he came up with that he may have over looked.

"Jeremy, is that ok with you?" Stefan took the ring back from Damon's hands and gave it back to Jeremy, trusting him enough to not to use it again, so that he would trust them enough to take care of his sister.

"I guess" he shrugged, he wasn't entirely pleased with the two vampire brothers moving into his house, for he hated vampires and what it had done to their lives, but since now his sister was turning into one such cold blooded creature he had to agree.

"Why didn't we think of this earlier?" Damon sat back casually on a chair.

"I think I need some air" Elena got up to leave.

Stefan stood in her way "Elena" was all Stefan had said, Elena broke down and she began to cry, for her emotions could not be controlled by her anymore. The sadness, the coldness she felt within her overcame her.

"Let's go "Stefan held onto her. He let her bury her face in his arms and took her up to her room.

Damon stood with a shattered face watching them as they disappeared into the stairs.

It was not that long ago that Caroline had to go through the same experience, went through the same emotions. She felt for Elena like no other in the room. Remembering the pain she felt that day, understanding Elena's pain, Caroline's vision was becoming blurred as tears formed.

"Stop looking at me like that!" even through her bleary eyes she could still see Klaus, staring as if he was ready to wipe her tears if they were ever to stream out from her eyes,

"What's going on with you two?" Jeremy wasn't the nosy kind, but Caroline's strange behavior was way too much for him to ignore thinking she was simply being her neurotic self.

"He's Klaus, not Tyler" Caroline placed herself opposite side of the room and stood with her arms folded.

"What?" Jeremy was expectedly surprised.

"You heard her" Klaus's eyes were fixated on Caroline's irritated face.

"Why is he still alive?" inspecting Klaus from head to toe, Jeremy walked to him carefully as if to see if it was not some kind of a hoax.

"I ask myself the same question?" Damon poured himself a glass of red wine, most probably to erase the image of Elena crying on Stefan's shoulder.

"Because then all of you would have been dead, because all of you came from my bloodline" Klaus gloated, eyes gleaming with pride.

"Yadi yadi yada…" making some yapping like gesture with one hand, Damon drank the whole glass of wine at once.

"I am going to check on Elena" before Jeremy walked up to his sister's room, his eyes wondered about Klaus for awhile, distrusting him as he had always had.

"So then a change of plans Barbie... since we can't take Elena with us like we planned ...You'll have to go with him alone… So drive safely and behave" Damon handed Caroline the key to his car and folded her hand which was refusing to take it.

"It looks like it's just going to be you and me love" Klaus put his arm around her waist ever so slowly barely even touching her.

"Ugh, seriously!" She had nothing else to say or nothing else to do, but to go with him.

Thus Caroline drove trying not to seem too obvious that the way Klaus who was embodying Tyler, watched her was making her uncomfortable. The fact that he said nothing, but stare at her was more disturbing to her than him calling her 'love' or 'sweetheart' all the time.

"_Why won't you stop staring?"_ Caroline screamed inside her head.

Then as if he had read her thoughts he abruptly directed his eyes at the road.

She peeked secretly at him.

His eyes were set on the road, he looked calm, and it was the most peaceful she had ever seen Tyler or Klaus. She tried to read him, tried to think what he might be thinking, think why he was so infatuated with her, think out of all the bodies he could have chosen to embody why he chose Tyler's, think whether it had anything to do with how he felt about her.

"Trying to read my mind Caroline?" he sharply turned to face her.

"I.. I was just" she diverted her attention at the map that was in front of him "I was just looking for the map"

"Oh?" he picked it up and opened it up to its fullest length, "Are you lost?" he asked studying her eyes that really did appear lost.

Caroline pointed her eyes back on to the never ending road ahead of her, feeling uneasy for his interest had turn towards her again.

Thankfully, her phone rang providing a scapegoat.

"Mom?" She slowed down the car, and pulled up to the side of the road.

"What? Yes… I will… but there's something I have to take care of first…" She was distressed and she glanced over at Klaus for some reason. He was still looking intently at her.

"It's very important mom!" she hung up the phone and started to drive off again, looking very much troubled by something her mother had said.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" he extended his arm to touch her, but held it in mid air half way towards her for he was worried his touch would bother her even further.

"It's the council. They are after us, Ric outed me and Tyler… now they are planning to get rid of us… My mom says she doesn't know what they are planning to do or when they are planning to kill us," She didn't know when she started to cry, but she was, "My mom wants me to run away"

"So, why don't we?" he didn't mean to take the situation lightly, but the idea of running away with Caroline seemed a plan far too enticing to pass out on.

Her eyes shifted skywards in exasperation, "I'm not going anywhere until I get Tyler back" avoiding Klaus's thwarted face, she thrust her foot on the accelerator, wanting to reach their destination faster for she was yet again reminded of the daunting life decisions that awaited her back home.

There were barely a human in sight, barely a sign of a house or even a trace of a path leading to any sort of civilization, there was nothing but the road they rode on, miles and miles of road. Caroline felt her hunger creep up, her thirst for blood amplify as the horizon ahead became soaked by the nimble dawn sky. But she stopped for nothing, for all she wanted to do was to get Tyler back.

For a while Klaus played around with the radio, trying to tune into a radio station that aired the sort of music he preferred. He gave up once, when most channels he tuned into began to play the same song by some teenage pop sensation that according to him was using auto tune way too much.

"Here we are!" Caroline parked the car in front of a massive storage facility.

"This is it? This is where he hid me? It's no wonder Alaric Saltzman was able to find me? This is too dumb even by Damon's standards," He kept complaining and stating how dim-witted Damon was all the way to the inside of the building. As they roamed through the hundreds of store rooms all Caroline could was to bear it, keep acting as if she was paying attention to him.

The storage units were all alike, the same green door, the same grey walls. If it didn't have numbers and arrows, directions, it could easily become a maze that people would get lost in and would not be found for a hundred years.

"Unit number ten-twenty, here it is" Caroline halted next to one not so unique store room door.

"Ten-twenty? At least he didn't choose something like six-six-six" Klaus slid the door up.

The room was messier that they thought it would be; bird cages, playboy magazines, a mini fridge, so on. And in the middle of it all laid the coffin.

"Looks like we've found Damon's private sanctuary" Klaus went in saying, glancing at the couple of playboy magazines that was on top of a cardboard box. Caroline stayed back, afraid to know what the closed coffin would open up to reveal.

Klaus moved forward and graced his hand along the polished wood of the coffin until he reached the lock. His eyes were rearing to see what lay inside.

Klaus keenly pulled up the lid and stared at his own desiccated body.

"It's not that much burnt," He ecstatically turned to Caroline.

She went over to the coffin, and cautiously peeked down at it. The eyes of the dried up body freakishly opened, she shot back and grasped Klaus's hand in shock.

"That's actually a good sign love" He gripped her hand a little harder, to reassure her.

She slowly gazed at where her hand had accidentally wandered. Seeing how their hands had almost entangled, she promptly lifted it as if she had sensed a flicker of electricity burn through her finger tips.

He was more than disappointed to have let her take her hand so abruptly away from his.

"Can he hear me?" Caroline moved closer to the coffin.

"Yes" He went around her and stood hovering over the face of the desiccated body.

"Tyler, we are here to take you home" she tenderly ran her hand over his face, as it just laid there expressionless. She didn't care what he looked like; she didn't care if he understood her, she was simply relieved that he was alive in whatever body or form.

Klaus's eyes scanned Caroline's features, how her gentle touch caressed the frozen body, his own frozen body. He wished his spirit would glide back in to his own body that lay on the burnt coffin, he wished he had not agreed to swap bodies if he had known he was to be the one to feel her touch and see her gaze at him with such passion shimmering in her blue eyes. He was greedy for her touch, for her love. He envied the young hybrid that was embodying his own desiccated body. He closed the lid with one fast push making Caroline take her hand out of the coffin.

"What the..." She gawked angrily at Klaus.

"We need to get going" he began to push the coffin out of the storage unit.

Though Caroline was still infuriated at the way he closed the coffin, she pushed the coffin with him, for it was true that sooner they got the coffin back to Mystic Falls the better.

The coffin was not that heavy, they were even strong enough to carry it, yet they pushed it along the cement floor together, fast enough that no one could see that they were reeling out a coffin.

"I'll drive" Klaus said as he closed the back door of the car after making sure the coffin was securely placed in the back of the car.

"No, I'll drive" she took the keys out from her pocket.

But before she knew it, he had stolen the keys out of her hand and was sitting at the driver's seat starting up the car.

"Get in Caroline," he smiled cunningly, opening the door to her.

Fuming, she got inside.

As they rode along back to Mystic Falls, they were quiet; there was nothing to be said by her anyway, and he looked as though he had countless things to say but he too was silent.

It started to drizzle, spraying rain drops over the side window. Caroline settled down on the fairly comfortable leather seat of the car. Watching as windshield wipers unhurriedly swayed, she closed her eyes taking a deep breath. She dozed off in to a comfortable sleep knowing that in a few more hours, before the end of the day everything would turn out to be the way she had planned, thinking that in a few more hours she would be able to run off with Tyler, however fickle their future may be in the end.

_Then suddenly she found herself lost in the hallways of her school somehow; she was on her own, running hysterically. She was sure she was dreaming, yet it felt so absurdly real._

_She took few more strides forward and she was standing before the school __gym. Hearing a voice of a woman singing sultrily, Caroline peeked through its doors. All were dancing, they were in some form of twenties clothing or the other, embracing their partners, holding onto them endearingly. _

_Suddenly the doors flung opened on Caroline's face as a man in white walked passed her in fury._

"_Klaus" she uttered softly as if she wanted to stop him, run after him. She couldn't for she shouldn't; he was 'Klaus'. She stayed there, staring at his back as it faded into thin air. _

"_Caroline run!" She heard Elena's screams out of nowhere._

_Impulsively Caroline ran within the bleak corridors._

_She looked back to see whether whatever she was running away from was still following her, thinking whether she should go back and help Elena._

_Then someone seized her from behind, she tried to scream, but his hand covered her mouth._

"_Shh… shh.. It's me.. It's ok you're safe" said Klaus's soothing voice._

_She calmed down feeling sheltered in his arms. She glanced over at him, but he had vanished, leaving her behind._

_In a distance she could hear some girls gossiping and some squeal. She hurriedly followed the voices not wanting to be alone._

_She was running around in circles for a while before she was among the crowd._

_The girls were fussing over someone, running over to someone as if they were gone completely mad. A small crowd had gathered around one person. From a far she could see him walking her way, with the fanatic girls following him like trail of ants. _

_She could see him, gesturing at the girls, winking as he walked. He looked like Tyler, he was walking pass her, with a bright smirk on his face. _

_She could hear him talk to all the girls but her, "How are you doing love… Hello there sweetheart" He was ignoring her while she just stood there unable to comprehend what it all meant._

_Everyone had followed him to the far end of the halls to the point that she couldn't see them any longer; again she was by herself in the cold and lonely hallways of her dreaded high school. She nervously walked about, "Hello? Is anybody here?" _

_Suddenly she was dragged into the eraser room, may be the janitor's room, but wherever it was it was confined, dark and dust filled. _

_Someone switched on the one bulb that was hanging on its ceiling. The bulb swung about shaking the shadows on the walls._

"_Shh… shh.. It's me... It's ok you're safe" it was Tyler who had dragged her inside, but his mannerisms were different, his voice was different._

_She smiled back at him nevertheless, for he was 'Tyler'._

_He spun her around, smiled before he planted a heated kiss on her much prepared lips. As they madly explored each other, she felt her heart burn with emotions that she had never felt for anyone before. Breathing, coarsely she drew back to search for his eyes simply to see whether he felt the same way._

"_Klaus?" She mouthed, for he felt like Klaus and looked like Klaus. She realized it had been Klaus the whole time. _

_He smiled, his deep blue eyes seething with passion._

_She overtook his lips not caring that he was the evil hybrid that she should most definitely stay far far away from._

Her eyes shot open, for she was keen to remind herself it was just a dream, a nightmare that should never become true.

"It's just a nightmare" she said to herself.

"Nightmare? It certainly sounded like you were dreaming of something nice, really nice" Klaus glanced at Caroline, who indeed looked like she had seen a nightmare seeing him beside her.

"Just keep your eyes on the road" she pointed at the road and buried herself with in the seat, feeling her cheeks burning in embarrassment.

"Whatever you say love" He smiled mischievously.


	3. Finding Hope

**Finding Hope**

Caroline checked for the time from the ancient looking clock that was hanging on one of the walls of her house for the umpteenth time. "Why isn't she still here?" she frowned at the clock.

"She'll be here… she better..." Klaus who had been pacing around, sat on the couch, next to Caroline.

As if she was a robot programmed to stay away from him, she got up brashly. "I can't just sit here, and wait for Bonnie without doing anything…" she went in the direction of her room, her steps sounded bothered, her breathing sounded stressed.

Klaus stared at her, thinking what he could do more to make her at least sit with her.

She took a turn and vanished to her room, he kept staring at her shadow that crawled after her, thinking what he should not do anymore to make her talk to him or at least look at him without the allusion of loath that loomed in her eyes.

He too looked up at the clock; he waited alone listening to its irritating ticking sound. Yet, however much he wanted to give Caroline her space, in between each second, in between every ticking noise, his ears kept eaves dropping on to every and each sound that Caroline was making in her room. And after sitting alone what seemed like a very long and painful forty two seconds he instinctively got up and went to her bedroom.

"What do you want?" Caroline placed one of her blue jeans inside a bag and started to go through her closet once more, not wanting to set her eyes upon the hybrid that was standing near the door.

"What're you doing sweetheart?" He then came in and stood next to her bed.

"Packing… When Bonnie gets rid of whatever the voodoo she's done, I am going to run away with Tyler" she momentarily glanced at him, merely to show how annoyed she was by his presence, yet her expression softened unexpectedly, noticing his fallen face. It was strange to stare at him and not want to hate him; to feel any manner of empathy towards him was unexplainably bizarre, thus she quickly turned back to her closet. She didn't know what she was looking for but she went through her cloths like a mad woman searching for her mind which had gone astray.

"You need my help?" he asked softly, she could feel him taking couple of steps towards her.

"No Thanks! Why don't you just wait outside?" She still skimmed through her cloths without a purpose.

"Tell me what you are looking for and I'll help you… and you know sweetheart, you can always use your vampire speed to speed up the search" There was no way he would go back to the forlorn living room and sit idly, missing his chance to be around her, tease her and try to win her over.

"I'm looking for my curling iron" she said the first thing came to her head; just to make him stop talking to her, keep him busy.

"Curling iron? Are you really attached to this particular curling iron of yours love? Because you can always buy a new one," a smile leapt out of him.

"If you don't want to help just get out of my room!" she seemed as though she was about to tear him apart.

He hid his laughter immediately for it wasn't the way to win her affection.

Caroline knew there was no point in trying to say anything further to make the hybrid take leave, for she knew he just wouldn't, she was certain of it, his devious face was proof of it . So she let him be, let him stare or search or do whatsoever other than talk to her.

She looked around, apparently for her curling iron which she was somewhat sure that Tyler had already put inside her bag.

She went to her dressing table and started going through its drawers slowly for she already had an inclination of where the curling iron actually might be.

May be for the sake of searching, or maybe he was driven by fate for Klaus had leisurely opened the drawer in the night stand that was closest to him to find a margin of a paper written '_Thanks for your honesty -Klaus'_ sneaking out from what looked like Caroline's diary. Tempting as it was to find out the inner workings of Caroline's heart by reading her diary, seeing his drawing kept securely within it, was enough for him. He had finally found hope, finally found that he in some way or the other had gotten under her skin whether she would ever acknowledge it or not. He gently closed the drawer, not wanting to alarm Caroline about his latest findings, for he wanted to keep the piece of hope he had accidently stumbled onto, to himself for the time being.

"I think it's Bonnie" Caroline listened in on the sound of a car engine that seemed to be parking.

"Yeah it must be" Klaus smiled, his head still in the clouds. His cold heartfelt as it was ready to jump out of him while he stared at her, feeling more besotted by her heart than he had ever thought he would be by any heartless vampire.

"What are you smiling at?" she walked passing him, to the door.

"What about your curling iron?" he was all smiles.

"I think it's already inside the bag..." she walked out of the room as the door bell chimed.

He went behind her, flashing a confused grin shaking his head not wanting to know why she was looking for the curling iron in the first place.

"Bonnie, I am so glad you finally came!" Caroline greeted Bonnie who seemed equally frustrated.

"Let's just get this over with" Bonnie took her jacket off and threw it on some chair.

"So what should I be doing?" Klaus stood next to the coffin that was placed in the middle of the living room.

Bonnie stood on her knees. "Open the coffin and stand there and keep your mouth shut"

Klaus's scornful face beamed a wicked smile at Bonnie.

"Caroline, go get the candles and place them like a circle! We first need to remove the desiccation spell, but it might take some time though… because his body has been damaged" Bonnie closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind, as Caroline ran off quickly and placed the candles around her.

Using her magic Bonnie lighted the candles and she started to chant her spells.

Caroline stood behind her; her nervous legs trembled furtively, anticipating the best and the worst.

A minute or two after, the young witch was silent, the whole room was soundless.

Caroline took a step forward when she saw Klaus's body slowly awaken; she saw Tyler's soul come back to life in the form of Klaus.

"Caroline" Tyler spoke not a second after being awakened.

"Shouldn't we just get on with this?" Seeing the way Caroline's face lighted up in elation at her lovers return, Klaus began to feel frozen and dead.

"Everything will be ok Tyler, Bonnie's going to fix everything" As Caroline was about to rush over to her boyfriend, there was a large banging on the door.

"Caroline, open up!" Damon shouted pounding on the door. "Open the door Caroline! It's an emergency" he yelled again, this time ringing the bell like a mad man.

"Ah.. what's he doing here!" Bonnie got up unable to keep her attention on her magic and went to let who she considered a complete nuisance inside.

Caroline ran to Tyler completely ignoring Damon and what she thought would be an emergency that would always take second place to Tyler's soul being awakened. "Everything will be ok Tyler" she kept her distance, feeling somewhat discomfited to be embracing Klaus's body though she knew for a fact that it was Tyler's soul that was actually inside.

She let him stroke her hair and her head bowed slightly as she gently held his hand.

Klaus stood looking at the reunited lovers, he could see her hesitation to let Tyler hold her, and he knew it was because Tyler didn't look like Tyler anymore. Yet the image of his own hands running through her hair, her hand in his, the way her hidden eyes seemed to be gleaming with love and hope, gave him a strange sense of satisfaction. Albeit he was not able to feel the silky golden strands slid through his fingers nor could he feel her hand in his, yet he etched it in to his brain, erasing the part about the Tyler's soul embodying him, for nothing were never to happen between them he would have this image of her being close to him forever locked in his head.

"You un-desiccated his body? I quite liked seeing his body beef jerky fried!" Damon walked along side Bonnie who was mindful enough to keep her distance from the irritating know-it-all vampire.

"I see that you've finally gave up trying to win Elena over from your brother," Klaus turned his eyes away from Caroline and Tyler to welcome Damon.

"I guess I should learn from you then… 'Cause you never seem to give up… you are still running after her like a little puppy, oh how cute is that? Isn't that cute Bonnie?" he turned to Bonnie with a fake smile and seeing that she had looked away he turned around to look back at Klaus.

Tyler jumped out of the coffin and put his arm around Caroline.

She fidgeted a bit caught up between the real Tyler's touch and the real Klaus's overwhelming glare that had returned to face her.

"What do you want Damon?" Bonnie wanted nothing but him to be gone, she wanted him to say whatever he said was urgent and to be gone, and her face said it all.

"What has gotten in to you lately, well actually you've always been like that, haven't you Bon Bon?" his left eye brow went up as he smiled from the corner of his lips.

Bonnie seemed as though she was ready to cast a vanishing spell on him. "Just tell us why you are here and let me finish my spell"

"The whole town is after us, you, me, vampires, witches, werewolves, hybrids, originals, we have to get out of here… they've been torturing Wolf boy's mommy to tell everything… and she has spilled the beans on all of us… Stefan and Jeremy are taking Elena out of town as we speak and Elena being Elena wanted to make sure her friends are safe… so here I am" Damon had changed gears from plain annoying to serious and annoying within a second.

"Couldn't you've said something so important sooner? How is my mom? Is she alright?" Tyler held on tightly on to Caroline's hand.

"Hey, I did come to warn you… didn't I? When I could've clearly run to save myself? And doesn't any one of you find it weird seeing Santa Klaus over here talking like the Mayor's son?" Damon looked around at the aggravated faces around the room for an answer. "Don't worry your mother would be fine, since she's a human and all" he added using a more serious tone seeing as that none of them weren't too keen on replying to any of his questions.

"We need to finish this spell first!"Caroline let go of Tyler and stood in front of Bonnie fearing she would go off without finishing the spell.

"We could do this later, Barbie, we have to get out of here first" Damon drew Caroline from her hand, which she was quick to take back. Klaus seemed as if he wanted to break Damon's hand off when his eyes caught the way he dragged Caroline away.

"No! I'll finish the spell first" Bonnie went in to the circle of candles again.

"Whatever" Damon leaned against the wall goaded by their decision which he thought was the most reckless idea ever.

"Should we keep a look out for them?" Caroline turned to Damon.

"Don't worry love, I'll protect you" Klaus said sincerely, his eyes focused only on Caroline.

"Dude, just give up already … she even threw 'A _Klaus Free- Life Party_' when you died…" Damon sneered.

Klaus was grinding his teeth, ready to change to his hybrid form, not willing to believe what Damon said was anything close to the truth.

Caroline's face on the other hand had never seemed so miserable and confused.

"Look like I've said something that I wasn't supposed to… oh well" Damon shrugged his shoulders rolling his eyes.

"Let's just do this" After glancing back fiercely at Damon, Bonnie closed her eyes again and began to focus on her spell.

Everyone quieted down, and let Bonnie continue.

The ambiance of the room altered rapidly as Bonnie's chants picked up its speed.

"Caroline! What're you still doing here? What's going on here?" Sheriff Forbes walked in, seemingly confounded at the crowd that had gathered in her house.

"Hello there Sheriff, I hope you can make your lovely daughter understand wasting their time standing around here is going to get them killed" Damon relaxed on a chair as he had nothing more to do for he had gladly passed on his responsibility to the Sheriff.

"Shh… Mom Bonnie's trying to swap Tyler back in to his body" Caroline whispered softly blocking her mother.

"Caroline, you have to get out of here right now, they are on their way, I barely managed to come here without getting caught, this would be one of the first places they would come looking" Mrs Forbes took her daughter to the kitchen.

"I... I can't mom… I can't go without Tyler…" Caroline's eyes were begging, asking her mother to understand.

"But... Honey…" Tough as Sheriff Forbes was she always found it difficult to say no to her daughter's puppy dog eyes.

"It will be alright mom" Caroline reassured her mother, though she herself was not sure it would be.

The Forbes household bell rang again, provoking Damon to open the door evoking somewhat of a commotion, "Who is it this time?"

"We know you have our brother's coffin, we want it back!" Rebekah was standing on the porch and she was straight away on to the point.

"We don't want anything else, we just want to take his body and disappear," Elijah's request was far softer and agreeable than his sister's.

"You want his coffin? In a little while you two would be able to walk away with him," Damon moved away from the door and let the two originals have a peek at what was going on.

"He's alive?" Rebekah nearly tried to walk in forgetting she was a vampire who was never invited to the Forbes house.

"Oh Mrs. Forbes! There is a couple of Originals standing outside… I think they want to be invited in" Damon yelled, and everyone could almost hear Bonnie's annoyance changing her tone as she uttered her spell.

Caroline and her mother returned to the living room to see what the two Original vampires were up to.

"They are stronger than all of you, if the whole town comes after you, you would have a better chance if they are with you, I am going to let them in," Sheriff Forbes had made up her mind.

"Mom?" Caroline wasn't quite sure whether what her mother was doing was right or whether they would actually help them out when needed or whether the originals would actually run away the first chance that they got.

"You two can come in" before Caroline could object, once again Mrs. Forbes had invited two more of the originals in to her own home.

"Nik!" Rebekah came in, her eyes and cheeks dampening with tears.

Klaus had no inclination that his family had come for him for he and Tyler both had gone in to some kind of a trance as the re-transition of souls was in progress.

"Whoa there, Barbie Klaus… he's still Tyler" Damon warned Rebekah with a sly smile.

"What? I hope you are trying to undo whatever stupidity you've done" Rebekah went to Bonnie's side, watching Bonnie as she carried on reciting her mantras.

"Trust me… there's nothing I want more either" Caroline stood obstructing Rebekah from doing something irrational to her friend.

"And it's not like you've never done anything stupid, let me see… like making Matt and Elena drown?" Damon looked at Rebekah as though he was trying to incite her to a fight.

"Let's not dwell upon past mistakes… Let's just hope this spell would be over before the whole town gets here" it didn't take that long for Elijah to finish his sentence and notice the noise of the herd of cars and trucks coming their way. "And I think they are already here," his words spread panic across the room, for everyone stood stoned and worried at wherever they were standing.

Mrs. Forbes looked through one of the old fashioned flowery drapes that were covering the windows. "They are coming! You have to get out of here Care!"

"No! Bonnie, please you gotta hurry up!" Caroline may not have felt so scared her whole life. She looked about, at her enemies and friends; the darkness that was upon them had made them appear similar; they all had the same panic stricken face.

"Turn the lights off and stay away from the windows!" at Sheriff Forbes' order the lights were off in a flash, leaving the candles around Bonnie to be the only light to surround them.

The cars stopped barricading their house.

It was calm; no sound came out of them.

"What's going on?" Caroline asked softly.

"I don't know Blondie, but let's make sure they don't have a clear shot at witchy and your two boyfriends over there" Damon replied in a lower voice and tried to obscure their shadows from whatever piece of furniture or object he could find.

"Whatever they are planning it can't be good" Elijah said as he drew Rebekah away from a window.

"They can't kill us Elijah… we can take all of them by ourselves… " Rebekah smiled arrogantly at her worried brother.

"You can never be sure, Rebekah.. We don't know what they have planned… Look at Klaus, he always thought he was indestructible and he almost died… and anyway we can't kill them… it's not right, " Elijah glanced out from the window to check if there was any kind of movement outside.

"How can you be so noble even in a time like this?" Rebekah pushed him angrily.

Caroline crawled towards the two original vampires. "How can 'You' not stay quiet for a second, we all know you can't be killed but we can be and so is my mom..."

"We all can just run, they wouldn't even see us run" Rebekah pointed out.

"Not until we finish the spell, and get Tyler back" Caroline constantly checked back at the two bodies on the floor.

"Selfish much?" Rebekah flipped her hair arrogantly.

"Like you don't want your brother back!" Caroline was equal to the task, her mannerisms quickly changed to 'Caroline Forbes the high school queen bee'.

"We can do it later" the thousand year old Rebekah growled back at the young vampire.

"Could you two blondes just keep quiet I am trying to listen" Damon complained from a distance.

Rebekah looked though she had a sarcastic answer in mind to throw back at Damon but she paused worried and turned her head to the window to the left of her. The others too turned their eyes to the same window for their vampire sense had caught on to the sound of something sharp coming through its brittle glass. It was one of many silver bullets that came raining into the room. Bits and pieces of everything flew across the room as the silver bullets ran through walls and whatever that was in their path.

Damon hurriedly jumped and covered Bonnie with his body, and as Bonnie's chanting abruptly stopped, the two hybrids, dropped to the floor, still unconscious and caught in the trance.

"Do you think they ran out of ammo?" Rebekah noticed the silence that once more had seemed to take over the proceedings outside.

"I doubt it!" Damon answered lying on top of Bonnie.

"Excuse me!" Bonnie pushed him off slowly, gawking at him with all the hatred in the world.

"Hey I was just trying to help" he said lying on the cold hardwood floor.

"I don't need anyone's help, I can protect myself" Bonnie sat up.

"I suggest you keep low, unless you want to die, or know how to work the floo network or something to get us out of here" Damon dragged her back to the floor and eyed the fireplace with a wryly smile.

"You..." Bonnie couldn't say anything further, for Damon had muffled her mouth with his hand. And if it was any other time or any other day she would have made him suffer for shutting her off.

"Should we make a run for it?" Rebekah asked her brother.

"We need to take Klaus with us" Elijah pointed at Klaus's immobile body with his eyes.

"Which one should we take? I don't think the witch finished her spell" Rebakah presented her dilemma looking at the two hybrids.

Caroline's ears were listening in on their conversation and she had her eyes on alert; they went back and forth between the window, her mother and the two hybrid bodies that lay in the middle of her living room.

Caroline saw Klaus's body wriggling gradually. "He's waking up" Fearing another storm of bullets may come anytime she speedily went to where Klaus's body lied.

"Nik is that you?" Rebekah had gotten there before Caroline.

"Who are you?" Caroline asked staring at Klaus's eyes hoping to find, that Klaus had return to his own body, eager to know if Tyler had returned to his or not.

The hybrid appeared to be bewildered as he glared at the two women in front of her, he seemed like a man who had just woken up from a deep coma and had gone into a state of amnesia.

"Nik?" Rebekah shook the hybrid that seemed like her brother by his shoulders, hoping somehow it truly would be him.

"Are you Klaus?" Caroline keenly turned him to her side.

After pondering and watching her helplessly for a moment, he looked down at his rival lying on the floor, motionless not too far away from him.

She turned him again to her.

"I'm.. T.. Tyler" he said staring at Caroline.

Caroline's eyes stared disappointedly at him. "Are you sure?" she knew it was a silly question but she felt the need to ask it.

"Yes" his eyes failed to meet hers; they tried to evade her completely, for he knew who he was, he knew it was indeed not a stupid question that Caroline had asked, for she may have caught on to his lies, for he was 'Klaus' and no one else. The spell had worked, he was back in his body and he didn't want to disclose it, he could not disclose it, it was impossible to admit it to her face when she so ardently wanted him to be Klaus, so that she could happily run away with her lover 'Tyler'. Klaus just could not have that happen. The fact that Caroline may never want anything to do with him once she found out that her boyfriend's soul was back where it was supposed to be made him want to keep his true identity a secret, hold back the truth as long as possible. He knew it may as well be a huge mistake but for the moment he chose to make that mistake, somewhat consciously and somewhat blinded by the passion he felt for her.

The bullets started to pour through the walls again; this time around a flurry of wooden stakes few along with them.

"We are taking him with us," Rebekah had run to Tyler, who however much she tried to wake up didn't seem to hear her.

Caroline ran across to Rebekah with her head ducked low as possible "We are coming with you!".

"What? Why?" Came Klaus's befuddled voice, from behind. He was worried about running away with them. He was fully aware that it was just a matter of time that the genuine Tyler would wake up and divulge the truth, thus he thought that the farther he stayed from them was the better.

"Yeah Why?" amongst the pandemonium Rebekah was helping Elijah to bring Tyler's body to his feet.

"We need to swap them back" Caroline shouted, worried that the sound of flying bullets may distort what she was saying.

"Yes, Niklaus would be livid with us if we did not take his body along" Elijah was carrying Tyler's body on his shoulder, he stood bent behind a shelf to make sure both he and Tyler's body was out of harm's way.

"Ok then you two can follow us" Rebekah announced as she evaded few stakes that were aimed straight towards her heart.

Caroline nodded and searched for her mother. Her eyes found a trail of blood leading to where her mother was hiding. She had been shot on her arm.

"Mom" Caroline ran to her mother dodging silvery bullets that ricocheted off of something or the other.

"Caroline we have to go!" Klaus held Caroline by her elbow, urging her to come with him.

"No I can't just leave her here, Tyler" she threw his hand off and tended to her mother.

"Caroline it's all right… you two go… I can take care of myself" Sheriff Forbes was pushing Caroline away.

"No I can't.. I'll carry you" Caroline put her mother's hand around her shoulder.

"I can't… I would only slow you down… I will stay here and distract them…" the sheriff could hardly hold her gun, but she wasn't wavering.

"But…Mom," Caroline protested, cried but her mother didn't seem to give in to her requests, not this time.

"Let me do what I can to help you… Go! Tyler, Take her "Her mother requested Klaus.

"Caroline Come with me" He dragged her from behind covering them with his body seeing that the humans had started to bombard them with vervein. His back burned slightly, yet he stood covering the mother and the daughter.

"Mom I love you" Caroline uttered gracing her hand over her mother's cheek lightly as Klaus pulled her off.

"Take care honey" Caroline heard her mother say as she ran along with Klaus to the back door.

"She'll be fine" Klaus kept saying to her as they rushed off.

"Leave it to you to waste our time over nothing" Damon had taken Bonnie to a corner of the room.

"You were the one who jumped on me before I could finish my spell" She glared madly at the vampire next to her.

"Oh thank you Damon for saving my life, something like that would've been nice" He lowered her head as few bullets whizzed pass her.

"How many times have I saved all of you?" Bonnie came out from hiding and cast some kind of spell to slow down the rain of bullets and stakes giving the chance for the others to escape.

"Good point… I think we can talk about this later… once we get out of here" Damon was trying to take Bonnie with him.

"I am not coming with you!" She kept on focusing on slowing down the attacks.

"The way I see it you have three choices, you can run away with the mass murderers and the gang, or stay here and get burned like your ancestors or come with me…" Damon mumbled from the corner that he had dove into.

"I can protect myself" She thrust him to the floor just by looking at him, using her witch craft.

"I am sure you can… but for how long" He got up quickly and ran away with her before she could do or say anything to stop him.

They all ran out of the house and dashed in their separate ways, humans found it challenging to target them as they zoomed through them. Yet their persistent attacks somehow managed to penetrate Damon's rib cage with a wooden stake and luckily it had halted somewhere, millimeters away from his heart. He mindlessly dragged it out himself as he ran for safety together with Bonnie.

The familiar faces that Caroline had grown up with and known her whole life was wishing nothing but to see her dead, they were attacking her as if she was death itself.

She ran alongside Klaus, he was faster, but he made sure he was right there beside her. The bullets were blindly shot, for the humans could only see their smeared images as they scurried, but out of nowhere a silver bullet pierced through Caroline's leg and she moaned as the bullet ripped her flesh. Klaus without a second thought or waiting for her consent took her in to his arms and started to race off.

Few of the cars followed them, though the cars were not fast enough, the bullets that came out of them were fast enough to reach them, the wooden arrows that soared their way were aimed well enough to reach them. They could run so fast for so long, but they had no choice but to run, killing any of the humans was not an option Caroline wanted to think about but if bad came to worse, for the sake of survival each one of them, including Caroline knew killing the humans would ultimately become an option they would have to consider.

However, fortunately for the humans most of the supernatural beings they hunted after had found some means of escape.

Klaus had run in to the way of the woods, preventing the cars from following them any further.

He ran deep into the forest, still carrying Caroline in his arms.

They could hear the resonance of the thundering gunshots that came from Caroline's mother's gun, and after a few rounds it was still again.

Klaus slowed down. Thankfully his brother and sister, more importantly Tyler were nowhere in sight.

A sudden sound of an explosion made Caroline jump out of his arms. She turned around only to find flames rising up into the air from where her home was supposed to be. She felt the heat of the flames burn her insides as she watched ashes float down to the ground.

"Mom!" she ran a few steps back towards her house.

"Caroline, You can't go back" He stopped her.

She struggled, cried and hit him hard to make him let her go. But He held on to her firmly.


	4. In the Shadows

**In the Shadows**

The flickering neon lights of the cheap motel sign flashed onto Klaus's face as he lay on the petite bed that had been so carelessly placed beside the window. As the sign blinked on and off, the rickety buzzing sound of electricity dropped in and out of his ears to an annoying beat.

He could not sleep, could not keep his eyes closed for a second, and it had nothing to do with the broken down motel sign nor the small bed in which he had to sleep for his eyes were sleepless as they were merely impatient knowing that the woman, by whom he was completely bewitched was sleeping in the same room as him, just few feet away, lying on the bed next to him.

Caroline's frame changed from pink to auburn as the light outside altered frequently. He kept staring as if he was trying to understand why he was so rapt by the young blonde. He gawked at her wanting to know what was it about her that had made him so mindlessly, without further thought want to pretend to be some good for nothing hybrid when he could be the almighty thousand year old hybrid that he actually was.

They were miles away from home, and for his fortune, his family had run off with Tyler and none of them, who definitely should now be aware of the truth, had tried to neither find him nor find a means to contact him, giving his not that well thought out lie, a longer life.

It had to be the work of his sister he had figured, for Rebekah however hardhearted and stubborn she may want to seem, had always understood and played along with almost every little silly or not so silly scheme he had ever come up with. He could even imagine their conversations, how while Rebekah fought to let him carry out the façade of Tyler, how Elijah would want to do the right thing and how Rebkah would finally convince their older brother to keep the truth hidden. However it may have happened, either way, his fib was still alive.

Nevertheless still he had not quite figured out where his lie may lead him, where he wanted it to lead him or how his new disposition can be used to his advantage. Though he could come up with few amusing and interesting ways to exploit it, he was not quite sure whether it was the right way to go about things. In fact he somewhat had begun to regret the fact that he had lied to Caroline in the first place. Yet what was done and done, he now had to carry on with his lie for he did not know how to suddenly tell Caroline, who was undoubtedly distraught by what had happened to her mother that he was not Tyler. He did not want to cause her any more pain by exposing himself as the liar that he was.

So far Caroline had been a bit wary to be close to him or talk to him as he would imagine she would be talking with Tyler. He saw that she was hesitant because of how he looked. Though she did not tell it out loud, the moment she said, that they should sleep in separate beds because she was still rattled by all that had happened and she wanted some time by herself, he knew it was a cover up, he knew what she actually meant to say was something in the lines of '_I don't like who you look like and I don't trust you'. _

He noticed her dreaming eyes flutter slightly, her face flinch in distress.

Impulsively his feet began to take him to her, he knew not how fast or when he went to her but he was there, hovering above her, looking down at her.

She curled and grabbed on to her knees as if she was protecting herself from something within her dream.

"No.. No" she mumbled in her sleep.

He winced at the sound of her sorrowful voice.

The light from the motel sign suddenly burned out with one last steady echo of an electrical spark that lasted for a second longer.

The room became dark blue almost black; his hybrid eyes could just about make out the outlines of her face.

His hand gently, in the blinding darkness sought out her forehead for he wanted to know what creature, or who exactly was causing her such pain and nightmares, and whatever it was he felt an urge to find and destroy it.

His eyes closed, as he entered in to her mind.

_He was walking in the woods; he could feel the dense fog crash in to his body as he strolled around searching for Caroline. _

_There was no light to guide him, and the night was dark as dark can be, her nightmare was hazy and dim as nightmares can be. _

_He heard her feet speeding through the woods._

_He ran faster and blocked her._

_She stopped frozen, "Who are you?" her scared eyes glared._

_He looked at his own arms and feet, to confirm to himself that he was Klaus, he was his true self. _

"_Who are you?" She demanded an answer as she pushed him back angrily._

_He wondered for awhile unable to understand whether he should lie as he did before, or should tell the truth. _

"_I'm Tyler…" He opted to lie again, even if it's not real life and though he could have clearly told the truth, he did not want to risk her waking up from her dream and suspecting him anymore than she most probably did already._

_She read his face cautiously as she did not trust him._

"_Caroline?" he waited for her confused face to answer back._

_She shook her head, as if to let go of her qualms and believe him to be the hybrid he said he was._

"_She's coming after me" she turned back to see if there was someone lurking in the woods behind her._

"_Who?" Klaus held her by her shoulders._

"_We can't stay here… let's go" she started to run, dragging Klaus along with her._

_Klaus's eyes indefinitely scanned the eerie sight behind him. There was no one, not even a shadow of a life._

"_Who are we running away from?"he did not need to wait for an answer for long, a fast moving blurry figure ran around them, and who or whatever it was its shadow circled around them in a high velocity._

_It was evident that whatever Caroline had feared she had manifested it to be faster than anyone. _

"_What do you want?" Klaus roared demanding an answer from the creature that moved swiftly from one point to the next._

_It thrust Klaus to the muddy ground and stopped right in front of Caroline, holding her by her throat._

"_Hello Caroline, trying to run away from me?" the smeared figure was none other than Caroline herself, her vampire self, with her fangs out, dark bloody veins streaming through her monstrous face._

_ Her eyes had taken the shade of a raging fire for she looked angry and swarmed by hatred. She looked more menacing than Klaus or even may be Caroline herself had ever seen her. _

_Klaus got back up still baffled by the two sides of the same woman that stood face to face._

"_You killed my mother!" Caroline confronted her vampire half as Klaus looked on._

"_You are wrong Caroline, your beloved humans killed her" the young vampire told her humane self._

"_Yes, because of you..." She tried to release herself from the vampire._

"_If that's what you think, you're to be blamed too Caroline, because I am you" the vampire threw Caroline away in a flash, making her drop to the ground._

_Klaus though felt like going on the offensive against the blonde vampire, he could not, for she was Caroline nonetheless. _

"_Caroline!" he went to the one who needed his help. "Are you Ok Caroline…?"_

"_I am nothing like you!" Caroline stood slowly with Klaus' help. His hand held her arm possessively, as his eyes glared angrily at the vampire in front of them. _

_The ruthless looking blonde's head fell backward as she laughed crookedly. "Keep saying that to yourself Caroline," _

"_Just get out of here before I lose my temper," Klaus had had enough, this monster could in no way be 'Caroline' he assumed and thus if the vampire did not vanish in a few more seconds he did not know how he would react, what he would do to change the nightmare just to protect the 'Caroline' that was standing beside him._

_The young vampire seemed to have felt his wrath, for she backed down a few steps. "This will not be the last you see of me, next time when there's no one by your side to protect you… I'll come for you" She disappeared in to the night, her voice faded in to the silence of the stagnant trees._

"_She's gone Caroline, you'll be alright" he held her closer to him, as she hid her face in his chest._

_He could feel her trembling body begin to cry, her tears smearing his shirt._

"_She's right Tyler, my mom is dead because of me," She pulled her head back and looked up at him._

"_It's not your fault Caroline" Ignoring the sting he felt when she called him by his nemesis' name, h__e placed his hands softly upon her cheek, caressing her face and gently wiping her tears away. He then pulled her back to him, to let her cry as much as she wanted and to let her know he would always be there by her side._

_After seeing her house go off in flames, after the initial shock of realizing her mother had perished, she had not shed any tears at all, she had held them firmly within her eyes as if she was not ready to accept what she saw with her own eyes, as if crying over it would help confirm the truth and not crying over it would help deny the possibility completely. She pretended to concentrate more on how to find her friends, how to get Tyler's body back rather than doing something, say something that would help put an end to her suffering. Therefore he was relieved she was finally letting herself go, crying even if it was inside her head, for he did not want Caroline's warm soul to be taken over by the coldness of her guilt and the wicked world that seemed to be trying to drag her away in to the shadows._

"_I could've done something… should have taken her with me" He heard her murmur in to his chest._

"_She wouldn't have come, … She wanted to stay there and protect you" He gently stroke her head. _

"_I just want to go home... go back to my life to the way that it was before" her words were barely comprehensible for her cries had become more strident. "I just want for the things to be the way they were before"_

_She only had to ask for it, for he had already begun to bring about light to their surrounding, begun to take her away from the murky nightmare she was caught up in. The sun begun to shine through the leafy roof up above and the chill of the darkness faded into oblivion. He was inducing her brain to go back to a time when she had no idea about the reality of vampires or werewolves or anything of the supernatural kind, he took her to a time when only supernatural things she wished to believe in were scenes written in highly romanticized teen movies. _

_They were standing in the middle of Caroline's house. "Go on, I think your mom is in the kitchen" Klaus lifted Caroline's face that was hiding in him by her chin._

_She stared at him bemused with her tired blue eyes._

"_Go on" he pointed his eyes to the kitchen._

_A soft smile took over her face as she wiped her tears, and ran following the sound of her mother's voice._

_Caroline peeped in to the kitchen. _

_Klaus walked slowly behind her not wanting to disrupt her._

_Her mother was in her usual Sheriff attire, she looked beautiful and smart as she had always looked. _

_She didn't seem to notice Caroline; actually she was helping Caroline's fourteen year old self with her homework. _

_The two supernatural beings silently watched the young mother and daughter as they both tried to work on some sort of a math problem._

_Caroline was watching them endearingly as they both smiled unison after finally managing to solve their tricky math question._

_With a big smile spread across her face Caroline turned to Klaus, "Tyler, this is how I want to remember my mom…" _

_Klaus nodded, seeing her contented face. _

_He changed everything around them once more; they were in some unknown place, in a garden which one would only see in their fantasies and read about in fairy tales._

_She ran in to his arms. "Thank you... for being here with me" She put her arms around him._

"_I am glad that you're feeling better love..." he couldn't stop the last word from rolling out of his tongue._

_She glanced up at him and her hands released him from her embrace._

"_Ca..Caroline.. I.. I.." He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say or he should say anything at all._

_He, who was expecting nothing more than a slap across his face for he had thought she had recognized he was not Tyler, was more than taken aback for she merely beamed and leaned over to place a gentle kiss up on his surprised lips. May be she had or had not learned of his identity, but in truth he did not care and he did not allow himself to care, he simply enjoyed every supple movement her lips made up on his. It indeed was a dream that he wished was true._

_His hands eagerly brought her closer to him, as his lips too lingered greedily on hers. _

_She drew back for a moment and let her lips lay smiling on his. Her smile baffled him more than anything, he did not know what it meant, whether she smiled knowing who he was and if it was the case what it would actually mean, and how it may change everything once she woke up; the questions that he so frantically tried to avoid sprung up within his head to no end. He thought, he may be reading too much into the kiss for it was a dream after all, thus it may not mean anything in the end, and it may simply be one of those dreams that one tends to forget completely when their eyes open to reality._

The dream began to grow fainter as Caroline stirred in her bead with a sweet moan rambling out of her lips.

Klaus took his hand off of her and opened his eyes to see Caroline shifting and her eyes slowly unlock. He stood, motionless watching her radiant blue eyes peer through the dimness as she turned to him.

He could barely discern the remnants of a smile that seemed to be residing on her face. His face moved closer trying to have a better look, trying to see whether there was an actual smile or was it just his imagination. Alas when he got closer he felt her smile may have quickly diminished for he could not see anything of a smile anymore, or he felt, it may be the gloomy room playing tricks on his mind.

He moved away feeling beaten.

"Tyler?" she lifted her head up slightly.

He was silent, disappointed for some reason, yet ironically relieved at the same time.

Caroline gently stood up, her bare toes touching the toe of his shoes, her face sited straight in front of his face, her body nearly brushing against his. He could now see her face little bit better, little bit more than just the lines of her features allowing him to more than guess how her features changed, however he was in no doubt her vampire eyes may have seen nothing but a blur of a face for the darkness had consumed him entirely for the little light that fell in to the room came from the window behind him.

"Tyler?" she asked in a whisper as her hand slowly wandered on to his cheek.

He heard nothing, but his wayward heart telling him to capture her lips.

He decided to follow the blabbering of his heart and planted a kiss on her mouth which too was eager to let him in. Her arms snaked around his neck and his hands gripped her by the waist. He had no time to let his mind wonder about what went through Caroline's mind or who Caroline thought he was, in fact he had no time to remember who, where or what was happening, he just went along with it for it felt good, perfect in every sense.

He leaned into her making her fall into the shaky bed, making himself collapse on top of her.

While her arms forced him towards herself, he felt her youthful exuberant body slither like silk under him.

As his fingers slid under the hem of her shirt to lift it up he could feel the warmth of her body run through his fingers to his cold heart, he could feel her tremble impatiently as his hands touched her skin.

With another flickering sound the motel sign flared up again. Its jagged light washed away the shadows and made everything more visible than it was ever before. The darkness that seemed to have kept his fears and her doubts veiled was no longer there to help either of them.

He could see her features lose its life as the beam of light settled on to his face.

"We can't do this…I'm sorry... It's too weird" she pushed him away, turned her back to him and covered herself with the bed cover that she had managed to get a hold of.

He waited still staggered unable to process as to what had happened and what almost happened.

He waited looking down at her silhouette that was covered by the white coloured sheet for a while.

With one regret filled sigh he walked back to his own bed, and once more laid down keeping a steady eye on her, watching her in the midst of the unstable light that fell up on the room.


	5. In to the light

**In to the Light**

He walked amidst unknowns, amidst humans that reeked of blood.

Though he was immune to its powers, the morning sun above him constantly reminded him of the creature within him, as if it was mocking him to unleash himself and show his true personality.

He felt no hunger, yet he schemed of tasting the blood of a scrawny woman that walked ahead of him. It was his animal nature which he believed that allured him to the tiny woman. Purely because of the way he was made he was driven to seek out the weakling among the herd of humans and pray upon it.

He was a master stalker, it did not matter to him what time it was, where he was, he simply waited for the right moment. He waited till the puny little brunette was alone, till she was away from the rest of her kind.

Then a smile was all that it took him to gain her trust and let her feel comfortable as he approached her. It may have been the work of his charm or his power of compulsion at work, some way or the other he had managed to draw in the young woman to follow his lead.

She as if in a trance had trailed him to some secluded place, a forgotten junk yard by the looks of it.

Once he was sure they were alone, it didn't take him that long to dig into her neck with his canines and start drinking away her blood. He smiled inwardly as its copper taste hit his tongue, feeling alive, feeling accomplished.

"Now it feels like a good morning" he said to himself as he finally let go of the woman's neck.

He stared at the woman who was still moaning in pain, her head bowed backwards and her eyes held up. He shook her and brought her eyes to his and began to erase her memory of the unfortunate little incident she had with a stranger on such a fine morning.

As the woman ran off to wherever she came from, he smiled glaring at the world around him. For that moment, in that instant that the taste of blood lingered in his mouth he felt complete and felt like the beast he knew himself to be.

The past few days he thought he was failing to uphold the menacing force his reputation for thousand years had allowed him to be, he felt he had been acting out of character and the blood that momentarily ran in his veins as always had managed to be his temporary remedy to eradicate the pain and fear of having any form of human like feelings that very unlikely may or may not have begun to fill the eerie void that he had taken a liking for the past thousand years.

The human blood ran deep in to his body, to his eurythmic heart, and whatever that was holding him back from being 'Klaus' seemed to have faded away. Everything was once again clear to him; he was the same old 'monster without a soul'.

He was glad that his blood lust reminded him of his true nature and that whatever that may have caused him to pursue the young blonde, who most probably must be going crazy about him suddenly disappearing had nothing to do with 'feelings'. If he ever at any moment had ever believed to be otherwise, he had to have been either momentarily insane or must have had some kind of a hormonal defect or just simply confused, for he truly didn't have the capacity to feel anything as such, he never had and as a matter of fact he could even line up witnesses to prove it. It was the thrill of the chase that had him fooled in to believing in things that possibly, quite definitely could not exist. If it had anything to do with so called 'feelings', he believed he should be feeling miserable and broken by what had happened last night, but since apparently he didn't care about how repulsed she acted seeing his face, he was sure there was no way he could feel anything.

If by a miracle, In one trillionth of a chance, if he really did 'feel' something, when he saved her life, when she danced with him, or when he saw her dancing in the arms of another, if something very highly unlikely ever did exist it was now no longer there, he presumed. In one trillionth of a chance, if he had ever had the tiniest bit of hope to be normal, feel something every creature yearns for, when he saw his drawing hidden inside her diary, it was now all over and surely have vanished and forgotten that they ever existed.

He believed he may have finally realized what it was all about; it was his need to prove that he could have whatever he desired that made his part werewolf part vampire heart beat energetically making him feel as though he was something close to human. She was a challenge that was all she was to him. He figured, all the pretending, gazing, not wanting to see her sad, overtaking her nightmares were just tricks the Casanova in him was coming up with. "Ah the good times" Klaus smirked, remembering how he mentored Giacomo Casanova back in the eighteenth century to be the legend that he had become.

He looked around again at the lonesome junkyard, breathed in as if to sustain his new verve; his vice which he assumed was his core.

He began to walk back to the motel.

His walk felt more confident and he felt that he had got his swagger back.

Yet, the closer he got to the motel, more wary he felt again, more heavy his feet began to feel. Guilt or something like it was looming above his head, but he assumed it just cannot be. He threw away the thought, before whatever hovered around him began to consume him completely.

Before Klaus could open the door to their room it opened itself.

The sight before him once again gave rise to sensations which are hard to decipher, ones similar to those that he had concluded just a few minutes ago to have been nonexistent in the first place.

The way her worried eyes stared at him, with her golden locks dangling down to her shoulders almost made him forget what he was so damn happy about not so long ago. He shook his head to shake off the confusing thoughts.

"You're back...I... I was just thinking… maybe we should go looking for Kol... I heard Elena say that Kol lived somewhere in Denver, and may be just may be... Rebekah and Elijah would be there or he would know a way to contact them" Caroline was ready, and geared up to go.

"I don't think it's such a good idea" he followed Caroline to the room, trying to keep his focus on what she was saying, trying to think of ways to steer her away from the truth, for that was what he thought any good for nothing hybrid with depraved intentions would do.

"Well that's the only one we got, I don't see you coming up with anything" Caroline sat on the bed sighing.

"Shouldn't we try to call Elena, Damon or Stefan again, I saw a payphone outside" he was pretending to look helpful.

"It's not like we haven't tried calling them, anyways I doubt they'd know where Elijah and Rebekah could be, so Kol is our only option." She looked a little girl about to throw a tantrum.

"I think we better think of something else, because I don't think it would be easy to have a decent conversation with the guy, I heard Damon got to know it the hard way" he sat on the somewhat old armchair that was in the coldest corner of the room.

"Well if he tries to do something, I think you are more than strong enough to take him, I don't think he would try to mess with the all mighty Klaus" she rolled her eyes, and flashed a little sarcastic sort of a smile at him.

"_You don't know Kol Love"_ his eyes fell to the worn out grey carpet as a light grin took over him.

"Did you say something?" Caroline stood up.

"No...wh… why?" He looked up at her worried that he had thought out loud.

"No nothing" her guarded expression still remained on her face in spite of her answer.

He again looked back at the dingy carpet.

"And Ty, Tyler I am sorry about last night... I hope you understand" she stuttered and stepped closer to him

"I do" he too stood up his eyes were now back on hers, trying hard to suppress the need to lash out at her, to scream out the truth, for supposedly he was becoming impatient to become the vulgar creature he wanted to be and take her then and there and put an end to the whole 'wooing her without compulsion game' that he thought he was playing. By doing so he thought it would ultimately help him prove he could not be hurt by a little vampire like her pushing him away time and again, since he had no feelings towards her to begin with.

"I thought I would be ok with it but I am not, even though when you were in that coffin, I made up my mind to be with you… I thought I would do whatever it takes, but it's difficult and… complicated than I thought, I know I care for you and only you but this… this is not.." her broken voice reached his ears as if a distress signal sent using the Morse code urging him to run away. Yet he stood there listening to her, while the way she rejected him last night replayed on his mind like a broken record.

"Did you feed on someone? This early in the morning?" the conversation changed as she noticed the small stain of blood on his shirt.

"What? I…I" he didn't know how to explain himself, or why he felt he had to.

"I knew I smelt human blood… ugh... You need to be more careful Tyler, we don't won't the whole country to come after us" she pushed him lightly, her frustrated face red and charged.

"I... I am sorry Caroline" he couldn't believe the ease those words rolled out of him.

"Are we going to Denver or what?" she walked off, her steps still goaded by anger.

All that he thought he had understood about his imaginary feelings, all that he thought he knew about the whole game of making her fall for him he had not forgotten, but he noticed there was something very off with his theories and explanations as he followed her out of the motel room without any further objections.

It took them a few of minutes to get a hold of a car, since Klaus was not too eager to get in a car that was not up to his standards, saying that Kol may know about his brother's taste and driving out to meet him in a half broken truck or a van with flowers painted on it would be a dead giveaway that he is not what he claimed to be.

Klaus was driving fast through the empty road.

"What if Kol has no idea about Rebekah and Elijah, then what?" Klaus looked over at Caroline, who was finding it difficult to hold the map straight as it fluttered in the wind.

"Then it might mean that he might have no idea about the whole body switching spell gone wrong thing, and we can use him for our advantage and you can may be like act like Klaus or something.. It's not that hard to do really, act all snobby and act like a know it all, a jerk with a British accent "Caroline smiled at her own cleverness and put the map away for she wasn't reading it anyway.

He was intrigued by her description of him, no doubt he would have liked to be better described, but he thought it would do for the time being. "Is that all?" he asked wanting to get more out of her.

She turned to him enthused, "Ooh...Ooh...Add sweetheart or love at the end of every sentence when you talk to me and I will act like you've compelled me!"

He turned the car to the left, with a slight smile.

"As you wish sweetheart, but I don't think I would ever compel you love," he grinned cheekily, eyeing her flushed expression.

"That's just too creepy, don't do it until we find out about what Kol knows!" She turned her head back towards the road.

"As you wish sweetheart" he had found a new hobby.

"Stop it, seriously" she glared at him, her eyes fully submerged in all sorts of distrust and doubts.

"Ok love" he couldn't resist it, he had gotten a free pass to be himself.

"Tyler!" she completely turned her back to him.

"What? I am just practicing love" An exasperated sigh was all that was heard from her at his last attempt to be Klaus pretending to be Tyler pretending to be Klaus. He smiled at the thought, he could not make any sense out of what he was doing but he did anyway. Though he may not be able to feel anything deep, he knew being around her certainly made him smile, hence for the time being he let his theories aside, let his inhumane motivations briefly lay buried till the right moment arrived for him to do what was expected him.

It had been hours, silence had crept between the two of them, he could only hear the wind blow across his face, he could smell the rubber of the wheels beneath him burn as he rode along without stopping. The map said that Denver was not far off yet it seemed farther than it should be.

Hours later his eyes finally managed to catch the sign that said 'Welcome to Denver' and he heard Caroline mutter something in the line of "At last".

"How are we supposed to find him" Klaus knew exactly where his brother lived but he had to look clueless.

"According to Elena, they met him playing baseball somewhere near where Jeremy was staying… so I think that would be a good place to start… he might live somewhere around there… and if I am a thousand year old vampire that doesn't mind compelling anyone to get anything; I wouldn't stay in just some apartment, Don't you think? So we'll look around places where he might live" She tied her messy hair in to a sort of loose bun that didn't hold up for long.

"Sounds like a plan, but it's not going to be easy, we'll need something more to narrow down the search" he contemplated how his brother would react, about what he would actually know. Then he stopped thinking about what his brother would do, for he remembered he was Klaus not the feeble young hybrid he was pretending to be.

Night had fallen. They were circling around apartment buildings that they thought Kol might be living; they were circling around until one of them came up with a better plan to find him.

"It's hopeless" Caroline breathed out a heavy sigh.

"So… what's now?" He was happy to know that she was about to give up.

"Wait stop!" Caroline screamed.

Klaus hit the break immediately; he panicked seeing the place she asked to stop was just in front of the actual apartment building where his brother was staying. "What is it?"

"I am hungry let's go get a burger there" She jumped out of the car and crossed the road to get to the diner on the other side, not worrying about the yells of the angry cab driver behind them.

Klaus was relieved seeing that she was merely stopping to get a burger. He parked the car somewhere on the parking lot near the diner and went in looking for Caroline who had already started to eat away.

He sat on the seat in front of her "When did you last drink some blood?" He could see that her hunger was not the normal kind.

"About four days ago, '" she stuffed her mouth with another huge chunk of bread.

"I think we should find you someone to feed on" he looked out from the glass wall next to them and eyed a middle aged drunkard that walked pass the diner.

"No.. I…" she couldn't finish her words for she saw some one approach them from the corner of her eyes.

"Hello brother what made you leave your Mystic falls adventures, I didn't hear from any of you for a while, If I was ever the caring kind, I would have been really worried" it was Kol, he was standing there his hand on Klaus's shoulder.

"Kol?" Klaus slid to the left as his brother sat next to him.

"You come all the way to Denver and you don't even come to visit me?"Kol stole a fry from the plate front of him and started eating.

"I've been a bit busy brother," Klaus pointed at Caroline with his eyes.

Kol then only realized it was not some woman that his brother had picked up on his way to Denver, she was 'Caroline', freaking 'Caroline' who his brother would tear his liver out for. "Seems like you've finally got her, and dare I ask how?"Kol passed his ever dashing smile at her only to get the most plastic and artificial smile from her in return.

"Compulsion" Klaus raised his eye brows, and glanced at Caroline.

"Excuse me, I have to use the ladies' room" Caroline stood up to take leave.

The both the brothers stood up somewhat showing off their manners

"I'll be right back love" She winked playfully at Klaus, probably thinking that it might be something a compelled Caroline might do, and Klaus was so taken aback at her small act that his jaw almost dropped to the floor.

"I didn't think you would have to stoop that low to get her" Kol said just as he saw Caroline disappear behind a door.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures" Klaus didn't know what else to say to justify something he had not actually done.

"So it wasn't what I thought it was after all" Kol looked straight at his brother.

The hybrid stared back puzzled.

"When you strictly told me you would tear out my liver over some vampire I thought my brother had gone all soft," Kol answered his brother's question mark of a face.

All the while Klaus'mind was wondering whether Caroline was listening to them or not, so his eyes went to the door of the ladies room time to time. "I just don't like to share that's all"

"I guess" Kol shrugged with a cheeky smile planted on his wryly face.

"So you didn't hear anything from our beloved sister or brother?" He didn't want to know the answer, but he had to incase Caroline was listening in.

"Not a peep... and why are you asking me? Doesn't Bekah report to you every few seconds anymore? What did you do to our dear sister? Did you compel one of her boyfriends again? "Kol raised his left eye brow and his mocking tone he knew will not set well with his brother, but he simply didn't bother to care.

Klaus as expected glared fiercely, "No! The whole town was after us, we had to spread out… we had to run"

"You? Ran? I find it hard to believe… don't tell me desperate times call for desperate measures?" Kol gestured a waitress to come to their table.

"Something like that" he sighed remembering the chaotic night, which he decided to pretend to be Tyler and run away with Caroline.

"So may I ask why you are so desperate to find them? I am sure you are bound to bump in to them one way or the other, this world is too small for people like us" Kol turned away from his brother spotting the young waitress standing next to him.

"A coffee please, Maria" Kol read the name tag on her sunny yellow blouse.

"Anything else?" the waitress chewed her chewing gum indifferently, till she looked away from her note pad and saw Kol's face, even without being compelled she looked compelled.

"That's it hun" Kol winked while Klaus shook his head at his brother.

"Ok" The waitress walked off with a big smile on her face, a one that spread ear to ear.

"So what were we talking about? Oh you running away" Kol enjoyed seeing his brother's annoyed expression, it made him beam as he spoke.

"So… I don't have my phone with me and I don't know any other way to contact them… and Elena is with them" Klaus knew that was what Caroline expected him to say.

"Ah so you still haven't given up on your hybrid army then… Let me try calling them, if this doesn't work there's a really hot witch few blocks away that might be able to help you" Kol took out his phone and started to search for his sister's number.

Klaus foreseeing what his brother was about to do could make things more complicated, without saying anything he held on to the mobile tightly and brought it down, indicating Kol with his eyes that it was not a good idea.

"Oh? … She's not answering her phone, and I don't think the witch I was talking about is that hot either and I don't think she's in town anyways" though Kol may not have had a clear idea why his brother was asking to do so, he figured it had to do something with Caroline, who he saw returning to her seat.

Klaus quickly let go of his brother's phone seeing Caroline. He didn't want all his hard work of playing Tyler go wasted just because of one phone call.

"If they are going anywhere I think they would be going back to Chicago, I suppose that's where she had the time of her life… I heard her talk about the twenties like it was the only decade she was alive" Kol added studying Caroline's face as she sat back on her seat.

"I guess… where exactly could they might be" Klaus acted ill-informed, knowing Caroline's watchful eyes were on him.

Kol smilingly took the coffee cup the giddy waitress handed him. "I don't know all I remember about those times is that I was sleeping soundly in a coffin, cos my dear brother had decided to dagger me"

Kol's remark made Caroline snicker and his attention quickly turned to the blonde in front of him.

"So… you finally gave in to my brother's charms?" he sipped the hot coffee as the waitress went back with a disappointed look.

"A girl can only resist such charm for so long" Caroline beamed another forged smile at Kol.

"True" Kol scanned his brother, as if he was trying to read his irritated brother's mind, as if he was trying to find out what he was up to.

"I am guessing you two will need a place to stay tonight… You two are more than welcome to stay at my place…" Kol kept the cup back on the table, his eyes glued to Caroline's.

"I don't think so" Caroline didn't waste time to give a feedback.

"What? No we'll stay with Kol tonight… and find a flight to Chicago tomorrow…" Klaus grunted forgetting he was only supposed to act like Klaus not actually be him.

"But… but.." Caroline looked at Kol's smirking face disapprovingly.

"Caroline!" Klaus demanded worried that his brother might find out that she was in fact not compelled or worse that Kol may think his ever so evil brother who boasts about being the most powerful hybrid, cannot control the little blue eyed blonde.

"Fine!" She folded her arms in anger.

Kol looked on very much amused by their exchange of looks and words.

Kol's apartment was as well-furnished and arranged as one would imagine a thousand year old single vampire's apartment to be.

He did not linger about for long as he went out saying he has a date waiting for him somewhere.

"I guess we'll have to share the bed… I mean… or else.. Kol might suspect something" Klaus slurred just as he heard the sound of his brother's foot step's disappeared out of his ears reach.

It was time he assumed to finally set his plan in to motion, whatever the plan actually was he had waited too long he thought, and if he waited any longer he feared his little act would mean more than what it should.

"I guess the bed is big enough for the two of us" Caroline looked around and saw no other place the hybrid could sleep except for the huge bed placed right in the center of the room.

As if to escape the awkward silence the talk of their sleeping arrangement brought about, Caroline dashed to the bathroom.

Klaus too wondered off to his brother's room looking for some cloths that he could borrow, looking for a place where he could take a shower himself.

Kol's room was as well or even better decorated than the rest of the house and his bathroom was big as his room itself.

Klaus let his muscles and his mind relax as the warm water hit his head and ran down to his feet. It had been a very long few days, filled with schemes, battles, and deaths, therefore he was happy that at last he could sleep in a proper bed and not some bed in a motel or a coffin tied up in chains.

He came out of the shower after few minutes.

His younger brother's taste did not run that far from his, Klaus thought as he opened the massive closet doors he found in his brother's room. A smile appeared in his face as he remembered how Kol always used to tag along wherever he went when they were small, before they were vampires. He remembered how his brothers always tried to mimic his mannerisms and took his side in whatever argument, without caring if he was right or wrong. He had not remembered about those times in centuries and he as if he was ashamed of those times tried to get rid of the memories quickly and dragged out some clothes that he thought that might suit him.

As he got dressed he could hear Caroline's wet tip toes scurry about the guest room. His mind wondered how she might look at the moment, what she might be wearing at the moment.

His imagination he felt was not enough thus he quickly put his clothes on and went back to the guest room.

He was right, his imagination would have not done justice to the way Caroline looked. She was standing there looking out from the huge window behind the bed, wearing a white bathrobe that showed off the length of her slender legs. She didn't hear nor noticed his presence, as she was too caught up on her own thoughts.

He had never seen such a creature he believed.

Slowly he approached her with careful steps, he felt a hunter approaching an unsuspecting deer.

Unexpectedly she turned around, stopping him in his tracks, as his eyes met her blue ones.

"Oh.. you've seem to have found some cloths " she mumbled nervously, as though she too was surprised by seeing him, and with an awkward smile she made the knot on her bath robe tighter.

"Yeah… and … I guess I'll sleep on this side then" Klaus pointed at some side trying not to look so obvious that he was not thinking from his right mind.

"Ok" she walked over to the bed timidly, her eyes trying to evade as his stare that followed her till she slid under the covers.

She turned the dim lamp next to her off. The light that came from outside still managed to bounce in to the yellowish wall and keep things visible enough to make them both remember the unsettling events that took place at the motel.

He strolled over to the bed somewhat apprehensively, somewhat encouraged by the fact he was about to share the bed with the young vampire.

Just as he fell on to the bed, Caroline had turned around, showing only the veiled curvature of her back to him.

He didn't know how, but his hand had sneakily moved closer to her.

She turned before he could make contact. She was staring at him, staring at the way his hand was trying to reach out and touch her.

He kept his hand where it was, not wanting to draw it back emptily.

She showed no sign of protest, allowing his hands to slowly wonder to her face, and let the back of his impatient fingers caress her glowing cheek with much restrain, for he was not exactly sure what reactions his actions might enflame.

When he saw her eyes close engrossed in his touch, he knew it had to be his moment, and if he didn't act upon it he thought it would mean he was not the Klaus he was supposed to be, he thought it might mean he was just coming up with those ideas about him being a scheming foul being only because he was hurt by how she pushed him away last night, and thus he let his hand slither under her covers and roam down the side of her. It was just to take the advantage of the situation and there was surely nothing more to it, he justified to himself trying to endure the slight electric like sensation that ran through his fingers as his hand studied her frame.

She shivered and her eyes fluttered open, her mouth parted just enough.

He threw the stupid bed cover that draped her somewhere across the room and pulled her body to him. He let his other hand hold her face gently, and then moved his lips closer to her.

Her keen lips floated closely to him, waiting for him to make the first contact.

He couldn't resist the tease anymore thus he took her lips hungrily.

She seemed starved for him as much as he was for her for she kissed him heartily, he couldn't' deem it was the same woman who pointed out that it felt weird to kiss him.

Whatever valid or invalid reasoning he had ever told himself about his relentless pursuit of the woman next to him, seemed unimportant, whatever they were, they were slowly becoming a nothing but a vague memory.

He let her lips go for an instance, she moaned huskily near his ear as his mouth slowly made his way down to her neck. However much he kissed her it was not enough, however close they were not close enough for him. He needed to feel her.

He twisted around and landed on top of her. Her legs wrapped him perfectly as her hands ran under his shirt and almost magically took it off of him.

He went to her. Kissed her.

As she nibbled on his shoulder, "Caroline" He moaned out, not out of pain out of lust and passion.

Her hands gripped him harder, ran madly over his chest, and ran frantically all over him.

Secretly his hand glided down and loosened the knot on her bathrobe, unraveling her completely.

Then slowly his hand glided back upwards letting it gently probe her tender body, letting it feel her seething skin.

His hands held her firmly. His greedy eyes glared at her, at the way her lively figure moved beneath him,

She pulled him towards her, eager to feel his skin caress hers.

"No.. I can't do this, I am Klaus" he pulled away unwillingly staring in to her deep blue confused eyes, trying to understand why he said what he said, why he let all his hard work go down the drain, why he ever pulled away from what he had seemingly craved for so long.

"Ah don't remind me" She winced between her heavy breaths, but did not understand him well.

"No I mean, I am not Tyler" He untangled himself from her and got up from the bed, his stare all the while pointed at the hardwood floor.

"What are you talking about?" Pulling her bathrobe together she turned the light back on and as if to read his treacherous face stood directly in front of him.

"The spell, the spell worked Caroline… I am Klaus… I am back in my body" he blurred out, but as soon as the truth escaped his lips, he regretted it.

"What?" She looked as if she was ready to burn him with her eyes, "You! And… we almost" She pushed him and he crashed in to the wall.

"Caroline, listen to me!" He walked towards her; he could not fathom why he wanted her to understand him when he could just compel her to forget everything.

"How could you do this? Oh wait, what am I saying? You are Klaus, you don't have feelings and you don't care about what other people, you want what you want, and you would do whatever it takes" She screamed, out of her lungs, tears crashing down to the floor.

" Caroline," He reached out and grabbed her arms tightly, restricting her from making any sudden movements.

"How could you ever think I would ever care for you after doing something like this…" Caroline screamed as she struggled to free herself from him.

"Listen to me" his voice was losing its softness.

"Why don't you just compel me already?" She growled.

Her words hit him sharply, making him remember who he can be, making him remember he should not just idly stand by and let her talk to him like that.

"Do not tempt me love" He took her by the neck, as though he truly was about to compel her.

"why put me through this? I could never feel anything for someone like you…? even if you were in Tyler's body, or in your damn body pretending to be him… Never… I've never had and never will… "

"Why are you trying to fool yourself sweetheart? Don't tell me you never felt anything, Don't tell me you didn't feel something when I kissed you in that cave? When you kissed me in the motel? What about few seconds ago? And what was that whole thing that happened in your dream?" He smiled cunningly as he dragged out whatever incident that could be used against her.

"You what? You were manipulating my dreams?" She froze, stopped struggling trying to remember what he might have seen in her dreams.

Klaus loosened his grip and let her fall to the bed, "And might I also mention that I found my drawing inside your precious diary. If you did not feel anything why would you ever keep it love?" He felt his vicious nature return to him.

"That doesn't mean anything. If it meant that much to me don't you think I would have packed it with the rest of my luggage?" She sat up, smearing the tears on her face.

"There are lot of things you didn't take Caroline, like your diary… looks to me like you were simply trying to leave the past behind not that you wanted to because you had to" He pointed out, his tone still ruthless as it should be.

"No… I kept it only because I felt bad for you… it was nothing but empathy… and now I don't even feel that… You don't even deserve that" She spat, attempting to shove him back.

"Enough!" He pulled her up from her shoulders as if he was about to bite her pretty little head off.

She stared like a frightened little creature.

A second later he let her go for he discovered that she was right; he did not deserve anyone to be feeling anything for him.

He wanted to be the monster fully well knowing of its consequences and the loneliness that followed along, for that was his comfort zone, but as he walked out of the room hearing her angered cries, his comfort zone did not seem to shield him as it did once upon a time.


	6. No Strings Attached

**No Strings Attached**

"_Let me go!" Caroline screamed trying to break out from the shackles that bound her to the wall._

"_And why would we do that?" the tallest of the two creepy looking men answered as the other fired a vervein dart her way._

"_What do you want from me?" She vamped out and hissed angrily at the laughing men. _

"_The moon will be up soon and we'll be well… hungry for some vampire blood and you… you're going to fulfill our appetite tonight," The taller one walked over to Caroline, he pressed himself against her, his hands ran all over her as she struggled to push him away._

"_Get off of me!" she opened her mouth to bite him and the man swiftly jumped back out of her reach before she could puncture his skin._

"_She's a feisty one isn't she?" the other man asked, and fired another dart at Caroline, making her lose the last speck of life that she had left in her body. _

"_Hmmm… it's going to be a great night" she heard the taller one answer but, she couldn't set her eyes properly on him for her eyes were blurry and were dozing off._

"_Let's have some fun, before the moon comes out!" she felt one of them crushing against her, and lay his disgusting lips on hers. _

_Then not a moment too soon she heard him scream, she heard both of them cry in pain. She wasn't able to keep her eyes opened but she presumed they were starting to transform, for the screams were all too familiar to her. _

_Caroline couldn't tell for how long but the pain and suffering she heard in their voices rang in her head like a siren for longer than she wanted to hear._

_Then after a very long while there was an alarming silence, it turned pitch black and cold._

_She jolted back to consciousness feeling a numbing pain run across her forearm; when she finally opened her eyes she discovered two wolves fighting with each other. She understood they were fighting over who got to munch down on her first, and was relieved there were trouble within their pack for it gave her time to look for a means of escape. _

_However it seemed hopeless as she didn't have much strength to stand on her feet let alone to break the strong silver chains she was tied up in._

_Blood from her arm dripped to the grubby floor, and she felt fatigued as her eyes caught a glimpse of the slow healing wolf bite on her right arm._

_The two wolves seemed to have reconciled their differences for she could see them crawl towards her in unison, growling, and prepared to seize upon her. Their shady eyes showed only hunger and hatred towards her._

_They leapt at her; she closed her eyes giving into her wretched fate._

_She waited for them to tear her apart, but they never came, instead she heard a deafening howl taking over the small room. _

_She looked and found another wolf standing between the two wolves and her. Its coat more majestic than a lion's, growl more ominous than any monster she had ever heard. It was not at all happy and it let the other two know of it._

_Scared of the larger wolf that stood in between, the two smaller wolves backed up inch by inch until they hit the wall behind them. Then it jumped towards the two of them making them, screech like defenseless puppies and run with their tails between their legs._

_Then the lone wolf turned around to face Caroline. It stood staring right into her eyes for a second, before it too jumped at her._

_She still couldn't see all that well, yet she through the haze saw the wolf's big eyes gape at her while it stood with its face almost touching hers._

"_Tyler?" his name escaped from her mouth, for it couldn't have been anyone else, though she knew it didn't look anything close to Tyler in his wolf form, though she knew the possibility of it being him was slim to none, she was too unwilling to think otherwise._

_The wolf's menacing eyes held some sort of warmth and compassion deep inside, and it confused Caroline._

"_Who are... are you?" it couldn't have been 'him', it was impossible she thought as she felt her world again become submerged in to the darkness._

"No!" with a scream Caroline quickly opened her eyes and sat up right. She was not in any one's captivity, she was not tied up to a wall, she was in a beautiful room, in a bed that was almost the size of her whole house that she used to live in at Mystic Falls.

Sighing deeply she fell back in to the soft cushion of the bed.

"It was just a nightmare!" Caroline looked at the high ceiling above her head.

"What was just a nightmare?" Kol was standing next to her, holding what looked like a cup of tea.

"Nothi.. Nothing… wha… what are you doing here?" she instinctively hid herself under the bed covers.

"What am I doing here?" He laughed placing the tea cup on the small table next to the bed. "What am I doing here? Good question actually, I've been thinking about it myself… what am I doing here?" He smiled even more when he saw the narrow eyed look Caroline was giving him. "Since my brother has wolfed out and run after those two wolves, possibly to shred them to pieces… I have taken the much difficult task of being your nanny, until he returns to feed you his blood of course."

"What!" Caroline felt a heavy pain holding down the whole right side of her body. She glanced at her arm that was tucked behind the cover and seeing the vicious looking wound that had spread along her arm she realized the disturbing images she saw moments ago was not a nightmare, and that it was Klaus that had come to her rescue. The room began to spin, her body she felt as if it was being eaten from the inside, and her eyes trembled unable to hold her focus.

"I suggest you drink this tea, it will make you feel better, even if it doesn't just drink it, I don't want my brother to think I didn't do what I was asked" Caroline heard Kol say as he started walking away from her sight.

"Ok" she uttered as she cast her eyes on the cup of tea.

"What were you doing there anyway?" The bedroom door made a low screeching noise as Kol opened it to leave.

She answered quietly, almost to herself, "I don't remember" though in truth she did remember, it was all coming back to her.

She hated that she remembered all too well of her stupidity that lead to the whole ordeal.

As Kol left closing the door, she closed her eyes and breathed in letting it all sink in; wanting desperately to forget what happened to her. Yet it kept popping up in her head.

_She was standing in front of the opened refrigerator looking for some blood, when she heard Klaus's scornful voice behind her. "Looking for this?"_

_She turned around and he was sitting slouched in the sofa, his eyes glaring at the fire place in front. She was hoping to snatch some blood out of Kol's refrigerator and lie hidden in the room until she had a clear idea of what she should do about the whole 'Klaus pretending to be Tyler' dilemma, but to her grave misfortune he was there sitting with the bottle of blood that gleamed through the darkness as it sparkled catching the dancing light that came from the fire place._

_Her need to run away and hide increased as she saw his evil loathsome expression, yet the need to feed her hunger increased even more seeing the bottled blood and catching its scent._

"_Just stay out of my way" She without pondering any more had run and grabbed the bottle out of Klaus's unsuspecting hands. _

_She sensed the monster within her come alive as she gulped the blood straight out of the bottle._

"_Just because, I'm still here and not screaming at you, don't even for a second think that I've forgiven you for what you did" She rested in the leather covered chair next to the couch merely to take a moment and savor the taste._

"_If you are sitting here waiting for an apology I think you are wasting your time love," he glanced her way, making Caroline feel uneasy and straighten the bathrobe that did not cover her all that well._

"_Don't you worry about me wasting my time with you… as soon as I'm done with this," She held the bottle up high and added "I'm going to Chicago" She drank it faster than the blood flowed out of the bottle, wanting to end the conversation quicker._

"_Go!" with a deceitful smile, Klaus put his arms behind his head and rested his feet on the coffee table, as if to show how much he just did not care about her leaving._

"_I will" She threw the empty bottle back at Klaus._

_He caught the bottle without even looking at it "Good!" He yelled._

_She dashed in to the bedroom and put on her cloths in no time and put the car keys in her pocket._

"_Good bye, then" without looking back Caroline walked up to the door._

"_Farewell love, Hope you meet my sister and she treats you well like she always does" he uttered without a care._

"_Oh don't you worry, I think I can handle your sister," Caroline turned the knob on the door slowly, as if she was hoping the door to not open._

"_Good for you then" he replied, continuing with his uncaring attitude._

_With zero confidence, Caroline opened the door, "Good bye" She sighed._

"_Hey where are you off to?"Kol stood in the doorway, with two drunken blondes that looked like twins hanging on to him._

"_None of your business!" She pushed one of the blondes slightly to make room for herself and walked away._

"_What the hell is going on? Aren't you going to follow her? Haven't you compelled her to not to leave you?" Caroline could hear Kol shout out._

"_She was never compelled, I couldn't…" Klaus's low voice appeared somewhat repentant, but it did not make her change her mind from walking far away as possible from him, thus she kept walking, kept a firm speed._

"_I knew it! You are losing your touch, and if you are not careful you might find yourself… I don't know falling for her?"Kol's infuriating words caught her ears and she almost slowed down to hear Klaus's response._

"_No! I..."It was the last of what Caroline heard the hybrid say before she ran out in vampire speed and got in to the car and drove off to nowhere._

_The sun was about to rise, and the night still had not yet completely caved into sun's powers, for as she drove she could see that shadows still roved around the most part of the city, making it look and feel more lonesome and foreign. _

_She drove faster, thrusting her foot against the accelerator wanting to escape the darkness that did not seem to leave her be. _

_She drove for hours on end, and had no clue how far off she was of reaching her destination, for she did not want to bore herself with the math as she was far more concerned about the hybrids, and originals that seemed to put her in endless predicaments. _

_Her speed died out as she reached a slow moving town, very much like her own. The town buildings, the roads it all reminded her of Mystic Falls. Though this town had some newly made structures popping up in between the old ones, she could feel that the spirit of the town was as old as the clock tower that stood in the middle of the town. The inhabitants in the town though are strangers, they looked quite familiar to her, reminded her of people she used to know back at Mystic Falls._

_She parked the car and wandered in the street basking in the uncanny resemblance this town had to her hometown. _

"_I will get what you want… Can I be sure you will get me what I want?" As she walked along the pavement she heard a well-known female voice. _

"_You need to give us what we want today! I think you are aware what day it is today, aren't you… or we might… if you don't… I mean… you are here aren't you?" a male voice replied. She could not understand what the conversation was about, yet she followed the voices wanting to know if the supercilious female voice belonged to the same person she thought it belonged._

"_In your dreams, do you know who you are speaking to?" as closer Caroline got to the conversation the more she was convinced it was none other than Katherine._

_The voices lead her in to a bar, it was not that crowded. There were some people here and there enjoying their mug of whatever they were drinking, talking about whatever that had driven them to drink at that time of the day._

_She spotted Katherine sitting with two men, plotting something as usual for sure. _

_Katherine was no friend of hers nor was she someone she liked talking to, however she walked up to her wanting to find out what the Petrova doppelganger was talking about, wanting to know if she had any information about the whereabouts of the originals or the Salvatores, for she always seemed to know something or the other about either one of the parties. Caroline was well aware that it could potentially be dangerous for her own life to approach Katherine, for who else would know more about her murderous nature than 'the young Caroline Forbes' who was killed by her and as a consequence became a vampire, nevertheless she dared to approach her, hungry for answers._

"_So all I have to do is to find…" Katherine seemed too busy to notice anything else other than the sound of her own scheming voice._

"_Hello Katherine!" Caroline smiled at the back of the cunning woman in front of her._

"_Caroline?" the surprised Katherine's eyes widened as she turned around to see who had called her._

"_Hi... Long time no see" Caroline's leery eyes focused on the older female intently._

"_Caroline! Why don't you join us?" a shrewd smile took over Katherine's face, thinking about one of her grand schemes no doubt._

"_I rather not" Caroline eyed the company Katherine was in, two men possibly in their early thirties, one considerably taller than the other, not the worst looking of men but the way they looked back at Caroline, she assumed their intentions to be murky as Katherine's._

"_Boys, why don't we continue our little chat some other time?" Katherine pointed at the empty seat in front of her inviting Caroline to sit._

_The two men stood up "We'll see you soon" the taller one said as he started to walk off._

"_Very soon" the shorter one added, and winked possibly wanting it to imply something more than what it actually meant and followed his companion out of the bar._

"_Ugh… finally" Katherine grunted looking at the two men who had walked away from them._

_Caroline sat ready to ask Katherine all the questions that she thought Katherine might know the answers._

"_So Caroline… what are you doing here?" but it was Katherine that started the conversation._

"_I might ask you the same question" Caroline spat back at her, her pent up anger at the woman who killed her trying to break through._

_The older vampire simply laughed, "I can see that traveling along with the ever so sweet Klaus had made an impression on you, you don't sound like the young sweet girl I killed not so long ago"_

"_How... How did you know that? How did you know who I was with?" a soft trembling voice came out of Caroline, realizing she truly had kept tabs on every one and she felt her face burn fearing that the way she talked did have something to do with the Original that she had been hanging around lately. _

"_Oh Caroline… I know people who know people and people who know how to find them" in her customary mysterious tone Katherine answered._

"_So you know a witch, big deal" scoffed Caroline as she looked back unimpressed at Katherine._

"_So… I guess you've finally decided to run away from him" Katherine's smile appeared once more on her face._

_Caroline simply nodded, her thoughts stuck once more on the last night's proceedings._

"_Join the club… But you should know it's not going to be that easy to get him off your back, he's a persistent bastard" Caught up in the thoughts of her own past, Katherine's nature became timid, her voice soft, somewhat reminiscent of Elena._

"_I know how to deal with him if he finds me… I am not afraid of him… and anyway I don't think he'll be following me anymore" she had never been as unsure of herself as the last few words escaped her._

"_Whatever helps you sleep at night" after studying Caroline's expression for a second longer Katherine Continued, "So tell me Caroline, what do you want to know? Where Tyler and Rebekah are? Or where your BFFs are at? I mean you surely have no other reason to sit here and talk with me than to know what I most probably know"_

"_Yeah, what other reason could there be?" the conversation Caroline overheard Katherine was having with the two men was still in the back of Caroline's mind, and she was glad that Katherine did not seem to suspect that she had heard anything she should not have._

"_Let's have a drink and start our little girl talk shall we?" Katherine looked around for a waiter._

"_I guess" Caroline answered coldly._

_Katherine called the young waiter that was walking by and ordered drinks for both of them. _

"_So you want to know what your boyfriend has been up to, don't you?" Katherine started playing with the small salt bottle in the middle of the table, twirling it around._

"_Yes!" Caroline annoyed at the sound that the small bottle was making grabbed the bottle away from Katherine's hand._

_She sneered at Caroline's audacity to take the bottle away from her. "And you think I would just tell you that?" _

"_So I am guessing you want something from me in return?" Caroline stomped the bottle on the table._

_Then the waiter returned with their drinks, silencing them both._

"_Here you go" the waiter placed the drinks in front of the two women._

"_Thank you" with a sweet smile Caroline said to the waiter, and the young waiter mirrored her expression._

_Just as he was out of their scope Katherine responded to Caroline's question. "Contrary to popular belief, I am not as evil or selfish as you think, but a girl has to do what she has to survive in this world… but this bit of info is for free"_

_Caroline looked at Katherine distrustfully, her eyes focused and forehead creased._

"_What? You don't believe me? Well I don't blame you… I've done nothing to earn your trust… killing you and all" By accident, by a very questionable accident, Katherine knocked the salt bottle to the floor._

"_So where are they?" Caroline followed the bottle that rolled down the floorboards without breaking._

"_Relax…just enjoy your drink" taking a sip out of her own drink Katherine settled in her chair. _

_There was something suspicious about her actions, her smile, and the accident, which made Caroline look worriedly at the drink in front of her._

"_Don't worry I didn't put anything in it" Katherine added promptly._

"_So… what do you know?" Still not completely convinced that the drink was in some way had not been meddled with, Caroline carefully took a very small sip out of the mug, as if to test it. She could not taste the vile taste of vervein or anything else, thus Caroline took a bigger sip in order to show her faith to Katherine, so that she would tell her the information she was so impatient to hear._

"_Tyler, Rebekah and Elijah were in Chicago, but..." Katherine paused only to drink her beer._

"_But…?" Caroline asked eagerly._

"_I think since Chicago wasn't what it used to be in the twenties Rebekah has decided to go elsewhere" Katherine as expected was not so forthcoming with the information. _

"_Where?" More time Katherine took to get to the point, more intolerant Caroline got._

"_I think this might have something to do with Elijah… because this time around they have gone to one of Elijah's favorite places" Katherine paused once more._

"_And where might that be?" Caroline gritted her teeth._

"_Not in the US" Katherine answered vaguely as the vague smile which she passed Caroline's way._

"_They've gone out of the country?" the unexpected reply from Katherine almost made Caroline scream out._

"_Yeah" Katherine merely shrugged._

"_So seriously, how long are you going to take to tell me where they really are?" with a loud thud Caroline placed the half full mug on the table. It may have been her fury taking over her, or the alcohol or Katherine may really had put something in her drink, for Caroline all of a sudden started to feel a tad woozy, her eyesight became hazy and her legs became shaky._

"_As long as you feel dizzy like you are feeling now" Katherine's words could barely be heard by Caroline, it felt like she was talking to her standing miles away._

"_What? What did you put in that drink?" Caroline held on to the table afraid she might fall to the ground._

"_A little bit of the potion my witch friend cooked up…You should know Caroline with me there's always a price for everything, however small it could be.. I can't believe you trusted me" Katherine started to pull Caroline off the chair._

"_What are you trying to do?" in Caroline's head she thought she was trying everything she can do to pull away from Katherine, but in reality she knew she was numb and lifeless._

_Between the chaos Caroline could somewhat see the bartender looking at them curiously. _

"_My friend here is a little bit drunk... she needs to throw up" Katherine compelled the surly looking bartender and literally dragged Caroline out the back door._

"_Where're you taking me?" Caroline asked but she got only a high pitched laugh out of Katherine as an answer._

_Katherine pushed Caroline aside and she crashed to the nearby wall and fell to the filthy ground beneath her. _

"_Where are you two?" Caroline's eyes were shut nevertheless she could still make out what Katherine was saying._

"_You better hurry up and get over here, before I lose my patience and look for some other way of getting what I want" Caroline figured she was calling someone, most probably the two men she met a while ago._

_Caroline surrendered to the power of the potion and lifelessly lay on the ground._

"_What took you so long?" Katherine's sharp voice woke Caroline up._

"_Here you go, the little play thing you wanted….. So I completed my part of the deal now it's time for you idiots to complete your part… hope you brought it from where ever you've been hiding it" Caroline felt Katherine pull her up from the ground as she spoke._

"_We could've taken her by ourselves, you owe us another one" a man uttered, Caroline roughly opened her eyes and managed to see it was the taller one of the two men that was with Katherine earlier._

"_Are you kidding me? She obviously came looking for me! It was my plan all along… and do you know how hard it is to find vampires in this wretched town... all you werewolves have destroyed most of them" Katherine's grip on Caroline got tighter. _

_Then only Caroline realized that they were werewolves that had made some kind of deal with Katherine._

"_Oh just give her what she wants Carl, it's some worthless shit anyway" the other werewolf voiced._

"_The scroll please..." Katherine said in a soft innocent like tone._

"_Here! Take it" Caroline heard one of the men say._

"_Thank you very much" Katherine pushed Caroline on to the hands of the two unknown werewolves._

_She was then in Caroline's face as one of the werewolves held her so that she would not fall back on to the ground. "And Caroline my dear, if you think Klaus would ever stop searching for anyone who he wants to find… you are so wrong… you are so wrong I can't even begin to tell you how wrong you are… it could be someone who he hates or … someone…. Like you", every word Katherine said sent a strange kind of fear through Caroline's veins, "He won't give up…" Caroline closed her eyes not wanting to see the vicious woman in front of her, not wanting to hear her vicious voice._

"_But when he finds you tonight, he wouldn't find you alive… it will be my little gift to him" Katherine was whispering in to Caroline's ear._

"_Yeah we'll make sure of it" the werewolf who was holding Caroline snorted like a pig._

"_Who the hell is Klaus?" the other one asked in a low confused voice._

"_Who cares man, let's take her and get out of here, before the moon comes up and takes away all the fun out of torturing her" the other answered and then they both started to drag Caroline away like two vultures dragging off a carcass._

"_Goodbye Caroline, hope I'll never see you again" Katherine's voice faded in to a distance._

"_No… Katherine" Caroline whimpered out as the two men took her away._

"Caroline wake up!" a voice startled Caroline back to reality.

"Tyler?" She couldn't make out who it was as her eyes were too wary and there were too many shadows dancing on his face.

"No it's just me" he leaned in closer.

"Oh?" She could see that it was Klaus, and was unsure how to react.

"Are you ok?" he was about to sit by her bed side.

"Leave me alone!" Caroline shoved him and put her unsteady feet on the floor and walked over to the window not wanting to face him.

"You need to drink my blood" he had followed her, and was standing few steps behind.

"I.. don't want to… I don't want to owe you anything" Caroline's eyes were fixed to the light of the outside world that she could see through the window, she held on to the window ledge for her legs were not strong enough to support her.

"You are willing to die just because you don't want to owe me anything?" a light snicker trailed Klaus' voice.

His mocking tone made her hiss "Yes!" as she twirled around to show just how angry she was, her puny legs failed her and she began to tumble.

He caught her, in his arms, and she crashed in to his chest. She wanted to push away but he was too strong and she was too tired.

She could hear him bite a chunk out of his wrist.

She turned her head to the smell of his inviting blood. There was no way she could resist it, it was her life line thus she with no more thoughts or hesitation started to drink.

She drank until her body couldn't take it anymore, she drank until the strange warmth of his hybrid blood ran through every vein, every cell in her body, till she remembered the first time she tasted his blood, the day that catapulted a series of events that had brought her to the point where she was now.

She let his wrist go, the blood still dripped from her canines.

She rested herself against him, for she was still weak and for she felt safe and comforted as he put his arms around her.

As sleep took control of her once more, she felt him lift her tenderly "You owe me nothing in return Caroline, now get some rest" his warm breath tingled in her ear as he whispered, placing her ever so gently on the bed.


	7. Everything Changes

**Everything Changes**

The door broke to dozens of pieces and rocketed to the other side of the room. Caroline stood a step behind as the two brothers called upon the werewolves that seemed to have crawled into some corner in their house.

"Come out, come out where ever you are!" Kol watched alertly when he saw a shadow of one of the werewolves move about the house.

"Do not try my patience, come out and invite us in… we just want to talk with you…" Klaus scanned the area.

"Who are you? What do you want from us?" one of them shouted from somewhere.

"I believe you've met my brother last night, and his... uhm.. 'Friend'" accompanied by a playful glance, that was aimed at Caroline, Kol yelled out.

Ever so briefly Klaus's eyes too fell up on her, and Caroline knew nothing more to do than to stare at a blank spot on a wall.

"Do you want a repeat of last night then?" Klaus returned his attention back to the cowardly werewolves, as if trying to ignore where his eyes had wondered a second ago.

"That… that was you? What are you? Who are you?" tentatively asked the other voice, which seemed to be hiding somewhere closer.

"Just invite us in, so that I don't have to show you what I really am…" Klaus flung a piece of somewhat of a large hunk of wood inside the room with a kick, thrashing the wall inside.

"How do we know you won't kill us?" the other one shouted from somewhere, and it sounded as though he was trying to escape from the back door.

"If I had thought wasting my time on killing you two imbeciles were worth it, you two won't be alive to ask me that question... Come out now and talk, and I promise I won't kill you that quickly" Klaus gestured Kol to go around the back, and Kol followed his command straight away.

Caroline found herself unknowingly staring at Klaus, his malicious words, his unwavering confidence. She found it difficult to believe that he was the same person that so caringly shared his blood with her to save her life. She remembered her teeth striking his opened vein, she still could remember its taste, the way it stimulated her whole body as it first hit her taste buds. She felt her throat becoming dry wanting that taste once more to quench her thirst. She could not comprehend what she was feeling; she figured it could be her mind playing tricks on her because she was now bearing some vague but vital information about vampires she had not known until that very morning.

There were few thuds, bangs and crashes coming from the backyard of the old house, and few seconds later Kol showed up hauling the taller one of the werewolves. "Did the little doggy wee wee in its pants?" Kol laughed at the fact he was unharmed and poised as before, though the werewolf who had fallen somewhere had come out bruised, red and drenched head to toe.

"Oh he reeks of vervein" then with a squinted face Kol pushed him towards Klaus, and he caught the soggy man by his collar.

"Tell me what did Katherine want from the scroll? What was in it?" he snarled at the werewolf, he had no need to compel them, he was the alpha and it was the natural order of things for them to bow down to him, thus he knew they all are inclined to tell him the truth.

"I don't know… It was Carl's grandfather's… I think Carl… Carl knows," the man looked around, as though he was looking for some kind of help, compassion from anyone.

Caroline looked away, not wanting to meet the very man's eyes that had harassed her not that long ago.

Seeing the spineless werewolf's beseeching eyes trying to look at Caroline, Klaus kicked him in his stomach. "For your sake I hope you are not lying to me" The werewolf who was crawling near his feet rolled over on to his back shouting in agony.

Caroline glared, muddled by everything that was happening around her. She had been in fights, had threatened people but there was something very different in the way the Originals handled things, it scared her and excited her at the same time, though she would not ever admit to such a thing.

"I am telling you the truth... Let me go please" the battered werewolf wiggled around in pain, as Klaus stood with one foot crushing his bones.

"Oh, Carl! I believe it's your turn" Kol pulled the poor creature to his feet, once his brother was done with him.

A pale beige car, with an engine that sounded like a sick cat coughing stopped in front of the isolated house that the werewolves had made their hiding place.

"What's going on? Jason? What are these people doing in our house? Where's Carl? " A young blonde, came running out of the car.

"Who do we have here?" Klaus rushed over to the woman and caught her from behind.

"Amy! No, let her go! She's my step sister! She's human…. She doesn't know anything!" the man in Kol's hand screamed.

"Jason is it? Your sister will be just fine if Carl just comes out and tells us what we want…" Klaus grinned wickedly.

"Do we really have to do this? I don't think she has anything to do with any of this" Caroline watched the way the scared young girl struggled to get away from Klaus.

"Have you forgotten what they tried to do to you last night?... I haven't…." The grip on the girl got tighter, his jaws clenched as he glared waiting Caroline to protest some more.

"But... She's…" The words didn't come out of her, his challenging eyes scared her, stirred something within her that made her forget all the words in the world.

"Look who has decided to finally grow a spine?" Kol pointed his head towards the door seeing that Carl had come out of hiding.

"Let her go… " he was still standing inside, in the security of the house.

"Afraid to come out? Well that can be fixed" Klaus turned the woman around and started to compel her, "Be a nice little girl, go inside and invite us in, I need to teach your friend Carl here a lesson" he let her go.

She followed his orders despite of Carl's tries to stop her from inviting the vampires in.

Carl tried to scamper, but Klaus was faster. He had caught him before he could even set a foot out of the living room.

"Don't hurt him!" the girl hung on to Klaus's arm trying to stop him.

"I just need to ask him something, all he has to do is give me a truthful answer, So why don't you just let go of my hand until I have a little chat with Carl" He only slightly pushed her away, but the frail young girl was thrown a few steps back and Caroline caught her before she fell.

"Are you ok?" Caroline asked softly.

"I'm fine... but what does he want with Carl? What is he trying to do to him?" with teary eyes the girl looked at Caroline.

"Oh why are you so worried about Carl? He'll be alright… if he tells us the truth that is" Kol who was still holding Jason in a tight clasp came and stood near Caroline.

"I... I am having his… baby… I… I don't want him to die… I... I love him..." Amy broke down, and heavy tears streamed down her eyes.

Caroline did not know whether it would be right to tell Amy, what Carl had been up to, she just could not look at the face of the dejected young girl and expose what Carl most definitely had kept from her.

"What? What's going on Carl?" Jason's fists tightened as he squirmed to get himself free from Kol.

"It... I didn't know... Amy, why didn't you tell me this before?" Carl sounded worried, but it was difficult to tell how genuine it was.

It seemed as though Klaus's eyes had become shaded with another layer of rage, listening to Amy's cries, "You would be very disappointed to know, your boyfriend hasn't been all that faithful to you. Your brother and your oh so lovable boyfriend have been going around town doing some very very bad things, kidnapping girls, drugging them, and I think you get the rest of the picture… don't you?" yet, unlike Caroline, Klaus did not think twice about revealing Amy about Carl's and Jason's nightly adventures.

"No... You're lying" Amy tried to leap out of Caroline's hands and attack Klaus, but Caroline stopped her knowing it would merely be unfertile attempt that would only end Amy getting hurt, or worse.

"If you don't believe us, just ask Caroline, I'm sure she would tell you all about it, Am I not right Jason?" Kol grabbed Jason by his short hair, his nails almost digging in to his skull.

Amy did not even ask Caroline anything, she only looked at Caroline's face and Caroline simply nodded in reply to her bewildered face.

Her cries stopped, "It can't be true, he loves me… you wouldn't do anything like that Carl, would you?… he loves me.. Why else would he come out of the house to tell you to let me go" She mumbled, glaring at Carl.

"Look at me! Tell me that they are lying!" Amy then once more began to cry, collapsing to the ground,

"Enough of this family drama, you can continue this after we've left… Now tell me Carl what was on that Scroll? You should tell me If you wish to live another day in this 'young and the hopeless' life you've been living…" More the girl's cries worsened, more Klaus's fury seemed to escalate. Whether it was because he pitied the girl or whether it was merely because he was annoyed by her crying, or whether it was because he truly and simply wanted to know only about the scroll, that had made him talk so incensed, Caroline couldn't completely work out, for there was something in his tone that told her it was one or all of the above.

Klaus put his right hand on Carl's chest right above his heart, his fingers threatening to pull it out of him.

"It was given to me by my father, to him by his father… " fear was all that can be seen in Carl's face as he began to answer, Klaus's threats, "I don't know what it was about… it was in Latin or Hebrew or something… or Greek ….. If you ask me, I think they are nothing but gibberish … but I remember my father telling me it was not about a vampire or a werewolf, but both….. Something like that… it says how it would be defeated… I think it was a prophecy of some kind…" Carl explained trembling as Klaus's hands slowly penetrated his skin, making its way to his heart, a millimeter every millisecond.

Caroline wanted to stop him; however much of a jerk, a scoundrel Carl may have been torturing him somehow seemed so wrong. She had killed herself; she was no innocent, but she felt it was easier to hurt someone when you are caught up in a fight, when you are trying to save some one, but there was something so very wrong about torturing someone just to get answers from them, especially while she heard the way Amy cried in the midst of everything.

However Caroline kept her ideas to herself, for she felt it would be more difficult to convince Klaus to stop tormenting the man that had tortured her and who if not for Klaus that may as well have killed her, so she was quiet hoping it would not end in more tears or deaths.

"Is that all? I don't believe that you are telling me everything? Where is Katherine now?" Klaus dug a little bit more in to his chest, as if he enjoyed seeing the man in pain, as if he enjoyed getting the answers this way than using compulsion to get his answers.

Carl could barely talk for he was in immense pain. "And I think my father said something about it being only one part of a whole scroll... Or prophecy… the other part was with someone else or some temple, shrine… I don't remember… that's all I know … Now let me go... "

"And Katherine?" Klaus kept his glaring eyes on him, to make sure he wasn't hiding anything else.

"I heard Katherine talking over the phone with someone, she said something about meeting up in England, That's all I know, I am telling the truth… please let me go" Carl pleaded, both his hands trying to remove Klaus's hands off his bleeding chest.

Klaus let his heart go slowly, he turned around with a triumphant smile, but he suddenly twirled and grabbed Carl again, "And remember this Carl, if you or your friend, would be stupid enough to ever try to or to even think about hurting someone I care about, I would come after you… and I think I don't have to tell you the rest of what would happen to you.. Do I?" then He let Carl go and in the same velocity, pulled Amy out of Caroline's hands, " Amy, you need to go far far away from this town, take care of your child, and never come back… forget about this day and Carl, he never loved you and he never will, the only reason he came to the door asking to let you go was because he knew we could use you to get inside the house, you are better off without him.." he compelled her and simply walked off, without looking back at the mess he created, without looking back at Caroline who was staring at him more confusedly than ever. She felt a deep sense of something towards him, it was not just because of the way he threatened Carl, there was some other reason behind it she felt, for it was not like she did not know Klaus in his own delusional way 'fancied' her. She wondered whether Klaus's blood that ran in her system, had somehow truly had managed to make her feel things that otherwise could not have existed. As crazy as the thought of his blood changing her feelings towards him, she wondered whether if it was the reason why she felt the need to taste his blood time and again, every time her eyes caught a glimpse of him.

Kol dropped Jason to the floor, "Are you coming Caroline?"

"Yeah..." she followed Kol, her mind still wrapped up in zillions of questions.

"Amy, are you Ok? I will take care of you… you don't have to go" Caroline could hear Jason's worried voice behind her, it was hard to believe a man like him could still care for his sister, man like him could ever change his ways. She looked at the two brothers that walked in front of her; she wondered whether that something which made Jason care for his sister could exist in everyone.

"I need to go Jason" Klaus's compulsion was already at work, for Caroline heard Amy's zombie like incoherent babbling as she got out of the house.

"Do you think... that prophecy was about him? Klaus? He was a werewolf, when he crashed in to that old mausoleum in the cemetery last night and today he couldn't get in the house because he was a vampire" Carl was asking Jason.

"I don't care Carl…!… All this is because of you… My sister is leaving… everything is because of you… it was your idea.. you're the one who said, it would be nice if we could have a little bit of fun every full moon night with a vampire, wasn't that your idea Carl?… Katherine can help us find more vampires you said… It's all your fault" they may have begun to fight for Caroline could only hear furniture crashing and windows breaking after Jason's little dialogue. Nevertheless, it was Carl's words that resonated in Caroline's ear, for it made her realize that the prophecy could very well be about Klaus, at the time, when Klaus was pounding the answers out of him, Caroline was more worried for their lives and confused by the new feelings, the new urges to even try and understand what Carl was talking about.

"So, I bet Carl is right, the prophecy has to be about you, brother" Kol got in to the car.

"When has something about how to defeat or kill someone was not about me?" Klaus mocked and went around and got in to the driver seat.

"Caroline, get in" Kol waved at Caroline, who had fallen somewhat behind.

She quickly ran up to the car and sat at the back, hiding her eyes under the couple of blonde curls that had dropped on to her face, afraid that they would somehow read her thoughts.

"So are we going to look for Katherine or our lovely brother and sister?" Kol looked at his brother.

"Katherine… " Klaus started the car, and Caroline could sense his eyes peeking at her from the rear view mirror.

"But... we have to…find Tyler" Caroline interjected.

"You'll have to wait for few days love, first things first" Klaus turned the car back to the narrow road they came from.

"Think about it Caroline, if the prophecy is about a hybrid, there is a chance, a very slight chance that it is about Tyler, what if this turns out to be the one thing that you might need one day to protect Tyler" Kol turned to Caroline just to flash his devious smile.

"Or it could be the one thing that could finally help us to get rid of your brother once and for all, without us being killed in the process" a competitive wily smile took over the frown Caroline had been bearing all day.

"That's the spirit love… England it is then" Klaus looked unscathed by Caroline's remark, in fact he looked rather amused as he drove even faster through the road.

They were driving off, in search of the nearest airport. It seemed the forgotten town was miles away from any kind of port that could lead them to anywhere. As time went on, Caroline noticed the sky above deepen, while clouds gathered around, erasing the sun out of the sky. A tiny raindrop almost floated down and landed on the window next to her, and a second after, before she could even look up at the heavens to see where the rain drop had descended from, a heavy rain started to pour down.

The brothers were silent as they rode, they were focused, intent on getting through the rain as quickly as possible. She watched them both, but soon her attention turned to one more than the other, she was by some unknown force was being pulled towards Klaus for she caught herself carefully watching every move he made, every twitch he made.

She could smell him, his blood and she was fixated with it, she believed it had to be what she heard Kol say that morning that had made her become lost in a world of her own whenever she saw Klaus.

"_Is she still sleeping?" Caroline was hardly awake, but nor was she asleep, thus she could overhear Kol ever so faintly talking with Klaus._

"_I think so… it was spread more than I thought… "Caroline could read the concern in Klaus's voice._

"_She'll be ok now, you don't have to look so glum" Kol sounded as if he was drinking something as he talked._

"_She will be… but I wished I had killed those morons…" Klaus was pacing around the room._

"_You did the right thing I suppose, " Kol gulped something down his throat._

"_I was not sure I would make it back in time to save her, so I didn't have the time to finish them off" he stopped pacing, and sighed._

"_Aww cute, you wanted to quickly come home to her and share your blood with her… does she even know what happens when vampires are sharing blood straight from the vain… and isn't this the second time? You must really like her Nik… I mean you could have given her some blood in a glass, this time around… " Sleep was none existent for Caroline anymore, Kol's perplexing words had shaken her up and had made her sit and listen._

"_Oh bugger off Kol.. it's not like I haven't shared blood with any other vampire before… and you are very well aware that after living for thousand years a bit of blood sharing is nothing for us… I can handle a bit of blood sharing... " Klaus growled._

"_Liar… so there's no other reason as to why you keep her around, you keep following her around, saving her… It's not your normal everyday vampire obsession, there's something more to it, isn't it? Don't try to deny that she's not some 'any other vampire', It's true we've done a whole lot of blood sharing over the centuries, … but even if it is not often, even if it's very rare, we Originals once in a blue moon do feel that way about certain vampires when sharing our blood, there are vampires who we have those feelings for more than the others and I know it's there for you with Caroline…I don't know may be being a hybrid has changed all that for you… but believe me I know how hard it is to find someone like that… but when you find someone like that you shouldn't let them go" Kol was serious, and it was so unlike him._

"_There's… there's… n.. nothing like .. that… that… I just… " Klaus too was not being himself, for he stuttered as though he was scared of his own words that were coming out of his mouth._

"_Keep telling yourself that brother.. we'll see what happens when she wakes up" Kol's laughter faded along with his footsteps, as he seemed to be leaving the room._

_Caroline could not think straight, could not understand what she should do or how she could face either of them, supposedly the blood sharing was something more than it seemed, and Kol had thought 'Klaus has it with her'. Was it what she thought it was or was it something else, she wished that it really was something else, for it was 'Klaus and her', he was talking about._

_Either way, according to Klaus, whatever 'it' was, he did not have 'it' for her, but was he telling the truth? Should she even care that he was lying or not? Would it affect her in some way? Was she supposed to feel something too? What was supposed to happen when she wake up? She kept thinking, and harder she thought about it more afraid she was to understand it and more she kept remembering how he fed her his blood, how she felt as it entered her mouth. Knowing what she knew now, however unclear she was about the 'blood sharing' bit, however much Klaus said there was nothing different nor special about it, she felt somehow all was about to change. _

"_Nothing's going to change Caroline… it's all in your mind…"_ she thought wanting to calm herself and opened her eyes.

"Did you say something sweet heart?" Klaus was his normal cheery English self.

She sighed, "No" everything was the same, Klaus was still driving, Kol was asleep, the rain was still pouring down on the poor ground, they were themselves, doing whatever they supposed to do.

"Are you sure love?" Klaus glanced back.

She was foolish enough to look at his eyes and answer "Yes", her body shuddered meeting his eyes.

"Very well then" his eyes were back on the road.

Yet her eyes stayed glued to the back of his head, studying him, seeking his smell, the smell of his blood.

May be nothing had changed it truly was all in her mind after all, she thought, then again may be nothing had changed, except may be, nothing but herself, she feared.


	8. The Third Wheel

**The Third Wheel**

"Why do I smell blood?" Klaus was walking around wondering looking at the clutter.

The drawers were dragged out and the wardrobes were opened, cloths were on the floor, books, papers and everything else too were not where they normally should be.

"It seems someone has been looking for something" Klaus picked up a book and turned it over and read its cover, "Oh, I hate this book" he threw it somewhere.

"I... I can smell it too, it's very strong, it smells like it's coming from here", As if she was a hypnotized zombie Caroline followed the very familiar rusted metal scent. It led her to the bathroom door and she opened it expecting to see some sort of animal, human or supernatural carcass or the other. But there was absolutely nothing inside, though the smell definitely came from that side of the apartment, there was not even a trace of blood in that room.

"It smells like something has been rotting in here for hours" Kol sniffed around.

"Do you think Katherine knew that we are on to her, and took off?" Caroline came out of the bathroom, and waited for either one of the brothers to answer.

"Certainly looks like that" Kol started to go through the opened drawers looking for clues, as to where Katherine might be or what she has been up to.

"Or…" Klaus began but paused as he reached the bathroom himself.

"Or what?" Caroline curiously glared at Klaus.

"You are right love, the smell does seem to come from somewhere around here" he stepped in to the bathroom, ignoring Caroline's question, engrossed in his search to find from where the strong stench of blood came.

Caroline stood in the doorway watching him as he searched about the bathroom. His index finger glided through the counters and the edge of the tub looking for signs. "I think I know where it's coming from" he then looked up, and Caroline's eyes ensued.

Nothing was there, but there had to be something, clearly it smelled like blood, galloons of rotting blood. In fact Caroline barely could keep herself restrained from completely going mad by the sheer smell of it. It tickled on the edge of her nose, mocking all her senses. Her throat was indeed dry; the blood thirst was returning and was turning from bad to worse as she stood wondering. Moreover in a matter of seconds her thirst was turning from the need to taste human blood, to the need to taste Klaus's blood once more. She believed the urge rose from the mere need to make sure that it did not have any effect on her, and hoped it was not just to make sure it tasted as delightful as she remembered.

Just then a drop of blood, a mere hundredth of an ounce, dropped to the floor from the ceiling above, making an odd pattern on the bluish white tiles.

"We need to go to the room right above this" Klaus stepped over the splatter that the little droplet of blood had made.

As Klaus passed her out of the bathroom, Caroline swarmed her own mind with questions, trying to overlook the increase of her lust for his blood, and turned to Kol. "Isn't this Katherine's room? So then why's the smell coming from up there? Is there something else there? May be the super was on vervein and your compulsion didn't work…"

"I can see why my brother is … well… interested in you… you are so very adorable, when you talk" closing the drawer that he has been inspecting, Kol looked Caroline's way with a grin and then went after his brother who was almost out of the apartment.

Neither Caroline nor Klaus attempted to reply to Kol's unexpected compliment. It was no news that he was interested, yet every time it was out in the open it made her feel more than awkward. Especially since the day she learnt that blood sharing could be something more, since the day she realized her perception of everything has started to change, she dreaded remembering that Klaus was 'interested' in her.

Klaus quickly stepped outside as if to make sure the tension of the room did not get him. "It is Katherine's room, my compulsion never fails….but she must have had something going on upstairs as well… the blood has to be linked to her in some way"

"Let's go and have a look then," Kol followed his brother and Caroline went behind the two of them up the stairs.

It wasn't a well maintained building and they could hear the floor beneath them making weird noises as they stepped on the wobbly wooden stairs.

The doors to the apartments were lined to the left of them; the corridor that they walked on had carpets that did not seem to have had a decent cleaning in years.

"407, this has to be the one" Kol stated out the obvious, for all three for sure was able to sense the strong smell coming from inside of that particular room.

Klaus lifted his hand, with a tight fist, ready to break open the door.

"Wait!" yelled Caroline.

Klaus held his hand in midair, confused.

Caroline turned the knob on the door and it came ajar effortlessly, "We don't have to break everything, just because we can"

Klaus turned sharply at his brother who was heard smirking.

"Let's go in shall we" hiding his smile Kol entered the apartment.

Kol went in the small dismal apartment just as freely as they entered Katherine's. "Whoever this apartment belonged to is either dead or a vampire, that's for sure,"

Caroline too stepped in but cautiously than the original that went before her.

Other than the odor of rotting blood, Caroline could sense the subtle aroma of burnt candles hover around the petite space. The apartment room had a different aura to the one that was told as Katherine's, though this too had been noticeably messed up by someone.

Klaus did not waste his time idly walking about as the younger ones; he directly went in search of what they came for. "By the looks of this dead warlock in the bathtub, it seems that Katherine may have run into some trouble, other than us,"

"What warlock?" Kol walked to his brother's voice and Caroline walked alongside and snuck her head inside the bathroom.

A man, whose neck seemed to have been cut deeply with something sharp, was sitting in the bathtub, drowning in his own blood, and he was dead as it gets, and it all looked as bad as it smelt.

"That's quite a sight, isn't it?" Klaus came back out, eyeing Caroline, who he may have remembered had not had any blood since he gave his own.

Caroline was quick to set her mind on other things in the room, and avoid his looks.

"How do you know he was a warlock?" Kol asked the same question that was lingering in Caroline's mind along with the quench that had been strangling her neck.

Klaus instantly made a face as if to say _'duh! It's 'Me' you morons, I know everything' _and rolled his eyes.

Caroline walked back in to the main room, "So I'm guessing… Katherine was working with the dead warlock, that's now dead in the bathtub to translate the scroll… They were working together but didn't want anyone to know it, so they rented two different apartments….but whoever that Katherine was working for didn't want her to tell anyone else about the scroll, and when he or she found out that Katherine was using a warlock to find answers, it didn't go well with him or her…. and he or she might've felt betrayed… So this… this is the end result…. The warlock dead… Katherine on the run...again…" While Caroline flipped through the pages of an old spell book she started to explain to the other two what she thought of the situation, but mostly she was mumbling to herself trying to figure out the connection between the warlock and Katherine.

When she lifted her head up, she found the two Mikaelson brothers staring at her, "What?" She bawled.

"And she's smart too…" Kol turned to his brother, with his eyebrows raised up high.

Klaus couldn't stop the corners off his mouth from curving into a smile as he watched Caroline, whose face was turning redder by the second. He was impressed by her and she was unexplainably overwhelmed that the thousand year old, looked at her as so.

"So... Do you know any other witch or warlock here in England, other than the dead one over there to find Katherine?" Kol's question broke the other two from their reverie.

Klaus cast his eyes away from Caroline and nodded his head nervously as if he had got caught doing something shameful, "Yes of course I know someone... Let's get going, whoever searched in here doesn't seem to have left before finding what they came here for, I don't think there's much left in here for us to find"

"Wait!" Caroline ran over to the circular three legged table in the middle of the room.

"What is it?" Kol was about to turn and leave but he halted at Caroline's voice, which was a frequency or two away from a sharp shrill.

"I think you two are relying too much on witches and magic" She pulled out a very small laptop that had been lying hidden under the few dozen or so books that was stacked up on the table.

"It's time for a good old fashioned investigation." As Caroline opened the laptop the two originals gathered around her.

Caroline was ecstatic as the desktop screen appeared without prompting for a password. "Great! It's still logged in"

"I don't think you are going to find anything there… it's highly unlikely they would keep a copy of the prophecy saved in that… if it had, whoever came looking for it have to have already taken it" Klaus complained but his eyes didn't leave the screen.

"Oh don't be such a skeptic Agent Scully" Kol shook his head disappointedly at his brother.

"Seriously?" Caroline turned to the Original vampire with a smile of wonderment though the same could not be said about his brother.

"What? I was catching up on the nineties before you two decided to show up and got me all caught up in this whirlwind of an adventure" Kol explained himself with a shrug.

"Nobody invited you Kol" roared Klaus as he was not amused by Kol's awareness of nineties pop culture.

"Yeah, but you didn't say I couldn't come… did you brother?" Kol ignored his brother's threatening looks.

Caroline still smiling turned to the screen and started to search for the Internet history.

"Here we go… they were or at least the dead warlock was looking for flights to Italy... Rome to be precise… so I guess Katherine might've run to Rome… " Caroline after scavenging through a few pages that were visited in the last twenty for hours came to a conclusion.

"That doesn't mean anything, it could be that only 'this' warlock was planning to go to Rome... not Katherine… and maybe it is a trick to make us think that she was planning to go to Italy… I want to make sure before we go anywhere… We'll go meet the witch, even if Katherine's in Rome we don't know where in Rome exactly… the witch can help us pin point the location, Let's just go without wasting our time" Klaus demanded from the two younger vampires and lashed off.

"You've got a point, I guess.."Caroline agreed reluctantly.

"Shall we then.." Kol led Caroline out of the apartment.

Klaus as told took them to a witch, and she unlike the other one that helped them follow Katherine to England, was old and did not oblige to Klaus easily, yet Klaus being Klaus was able to convince or rather threaten her to try and find Katherine who according to Caroline's assumptions was in Rome.

Caroline found out that she was half right, after few spells and few more threats from Klaus the witch told them that though Katherine has started her journey from Rome, she had moved into some small town farther away near to the region of Tuscany. And the few times Caroline wanted to ask the witches help in finding Tyler, she either got a menacing look from Klaus or she was cut off by him, however she doubted that the witch who did not cooperate that easily with Klaus would cooperate with her by any stretch.

There are many perks of being a vampire, one of them definitely was the power of compulsion, for whatever you want you could most probably get. Thus as soon as they were sure about Katherine's whereabouts they did not need to squander any time in finding first class tickets to Rome.

The ride was as smooth as their ride to England and it was similarly nerve-racking for Caroline, for she was in a closed vicinity with nowhere to run from Klaus's scrutinizing eyes and the abnormal urge she felt to taste him. The presence of no other humans in sight, expect for the crew and the passengers in economic area who were merely voices that orbited on her head, did not help the cause at all. If it was not Kol's unintentional buffering and somewhat normal conversation she figured she would have jumped out of the plane a few hundred times. Though at times it was Kol's remarks themselves that made her go red and look out the window trying to escape the awkward silence that followed them, she welcomed his company.

"So Caroline, where are you planning to go when you find Tyler? I mean it's not like you can go back to Mystic Falls." Kol once more came and sat next to her, handing her what looked like a glass of champagne.

"I don't know... I didn't think about it much… anyway first I have to find out where he is" Caroline took the glass and her eyes wondered to the clouds that floated just a foot or so away from her window.

"Wait...so you don't know?" Kol managed to get Caroline's head to turn back towards him.

"What?" She turned to Kol and behind his excited face she could see the blurry face of Klaus looking her way, so she took a sip of champagne just to cover her face with it.

"You told us that Tyler might be in Elijah's favorite place in the world right? Where do you think we are going?" Kol's all-knowing smirk could not be missed.

"They are in Rome?" She almost choked.

"If what Katherine told you was true, yeah..." Kol replied enjoying one more sip out of the drink and continued "And now you understand why some people are reluctant to believe you are right and take you to Rome… cos they are afraid what you just might find there" Kol turned and winked at his brother who was sitting on the other side almost crushing the glass of champagne in his hand.

Caroline's eyes unavoidably scanned the hybrid who quickly turned his attention to his glass, she was angry at him for once more he had tried to hide the truth from her, yet the more she stared at him the more the anger started to fade and something else started to fill her insides and she wasn't completely sure if it was just the lust for his blood.

Caroline was speechless and crimson, she was happy and embarrassed, she did not know what she should do or say except to gulp down the champagne.

"Slow down Caroline… You seem very hungry… wait here" Kol suddenly stood up and disappeared behind the curtain that separated their compartment from the rest, leaving her with the dreadful task of avoiding Klaus's presence all by herself.

Couple of minutes had gone by and Kol still had not returned. Klaus and Caroline both were occupying themselves by looking out from their own respective windows, neither wanting to start a conversation without the option of having Kol to turn to or the option of walking off the plane.

Yet, Caroline turned for some reason, as if she heard him call her name, and maybe he had or it was just her imagination, however she found that he too was turned to her.

He looked ready to stand up, his mouth seemed it had thousand things to say, and his eyes were already saying things that Caroline could not understand. She stared back. She waited for them to make sense.

He was just about to open his mouth and say something, when Kol showed up and stood in between, breaking their contact.

"Come with me Caroline" He drew Caroline out of the chair.

"Where are you taking me?" she let herself be dragged as Klaus looked upon them almost standing up.

"Just come with Me Caroline my dear… and don't you worry Nik… I won't do anything you wouldn't do..." Kol smiled at a very muddled Klaus who sat himself back down.

Caroline was dragged through the small isle that lead to where the economy class passengers were, thankfully there were only about three or four heads that were seen lifting up to see what all the commotion was about, she felt less embarrassed for there were barely a dozen people in the whole compartment.

"Where are we going?" Caroline asked softly.

"Shhh..." he shushed her putting his index finger to her mouth.

"Eww, Gross… what are you doing?" Caroline complained as he shoved her and himself inside the airplane lavatory.

She was about to scream as she found out there was a third person stuck within the cramped walls of the lavatory. "And who is this?"

"Caroline, meet your dinner, and dinner meet Caroline" Kol pointed at the poor young man who he had compelled and imprisoned.

"What... how… here? I can't" Caroline watched the man who was supposed to be her dinner, who just stood without uttering a single word.

"I Know you are hungry Caroline… so just enjoy your dinner now and thank me later" He went closing the door before Caroline could protest.

She looked back and forth at the door and the man. She usually used blood bags, lifeless plastic blood bags. Yet, however much she wanted to leave, it was too tempting, her hunger was unrelenting, for it began to twist her guts, and made her feel as though her brain was about to explode. It may have only taken her a few seconds to realize she was a vampire and she cared nothing more than to drink his blood. Thus she drove her canines into him, and the man surrendered at once, he made no noise, he did not whimper for Kol probably had compelled him not to.

She let go of the man only when she realized the thirst could never be quenched, only when she realized she could drink until he is dead and her hunger or thirst could not ever be completely fulfilled.

"This never happened, Just go back to your seat and enjoy your ride" Caroline watched the compelled man leave quietly.

She turned to the mirror next to her, and wiped the tinge of blood around in the corner of her lips. She noticed human blood tasted different than she remembered it.

Before her mind started conducting a postmortem and start analyzing whether it had something to do with drinking Klaus's blood, she rushed out of the room, looking for her two unlikely travelling companions.

"You're welcome" Kol said with an amused smile as soon as Caroline got to her seat.

Caroline flashed a stroppy smile his way, trying hard to not to catch a glimpse of Klaus who was sitting next to him, looking her way.

"Oh don't look so jealous Nik, I merely got her something to sink her teeth into" Kol was saying to his brother and Caroline looked out the window, the clouds that seemed to be disappearing to the darkness.

Fortunately for Caroline she was able to fall asleep soon afterwards and sleep through the rest of the ten hour flight without getting caught thinking unthinkable matters and getting involved in conversations or situation that would ultimately leave her feeling embarrassed or nervous around the witty Original and the relentless hybrid.

Once they had landed, Klaus made sure they stole the best car that was available as they set off perusing Katherine.

"When she said a small town farther away from Rome, I thought it was just few miles away, now it's like we are almost driving into another country," Caroline groaned from the backseat of the car, for farther away they were from Rome the farther she thought she was from the prospect of seeing Tyler.

"We could've flown straight to Tuscany but, as you may very well remember there were no flight till tomorrow, anyway I don't think we are that far off now love" he glanced at her from the rearview mirror as usual.

"Why am I always in the backseat?" feeling uncomfortable by Klaus's peering eyes constantly glaring at her, Caroline whined.

Seeing that Kol too was preoccupied listening to the songs on the iPod he technically burrowed from a fourteen year old boy Caroline was even more upset, for she had lost her shield and had to deal with Klaus by herself again.

"Oh sorry sweetheart, if I knew you were so eager to sit next to me I would have made Kol switch seats with you" Klaus's playful smile only remained for a fraction of a second after his remark, for Caroline scoffed and turned her attention to Kol.

"Hey what are you listening to?" She tugged at Kol's jacket from behind.

"Oh, you are worse than Bekah, here you can have it… " He threw the iPod onto her lap.

"Thanks..." Just as she was already to put on the earphones and face the road ahead, the car stopped.

"Eh..Why are we stopping?" Caroline looked out of the window, where she saw just trees and trees everywhere she looked.

"We'll have to walk through the woods… according to the map my witch friend gave me, Katherine is somewhere in there" Klaus got out of the car and started walking towards a barely visible and a narrow foot path.

Kol too got off of the car stretched his arms and looked around, "Are you joking Nik? Are you sure this is where she's supposed to be? It's awfully muddy in there and I don't want to get these shoes dirty, I just bought them, I mean I compelled it out of the sales girl's hands just few days ago… either way they are new"

"You've got to be kidding me? It's going to get dark soon… and are you sure this is the right place?" Caroline approached the path with much scrutiny as Kol.

"Are you scared to go into the woods in the dark? Fear not love" with a smile Klaus turned around and began to walk in the muddy path.

"I doubt I would find anything that looks scarier than you out there… "Caroline could not help but victoriously smirk at the sight of Klaus walk silently in front of her without a retort.

"I think that's what the kids these days call a burn, brother!" Kol's comment was further more approved by Caroline as she giggled looking at him.

"Oh shut up or I will tear…" He angrily ripped apart one of the wild wines that was in his way.

"Or you will tear off my liver? Dagger me and put me in coffin for centuries? Threaten me with something new will you brother, it's getting really old," Kol added, bringing out little bit more than a muted chuckle from Caroline.

The little banter came to a sudden halt, for a very out dated polyphonic ring tone started to buzz loudly.

"What in the world?" Klaus stopped, and looked back the younger vampires that were strolling along behind him.

"Sorry" Caroline pulled out a mobile phone from her jeans.

"Hello? Bonnie? Is that you..? Hello… what? I can't hear you… the reception here is not good… hello?" Caroline stepped to the right and left trying to catch a better signal, yet it was no use as she heard Bonnie hang up. "I sent her a billion of text messages, emails and no replies… and suddenly we are in the middle of nowhere, without any reception and she decides to call me… "She put the phone back in her back pocket.

"Where did you find that ancient artifact from?" Kol pointed at the top of the old pink mobile phone that was peeking out of her pocket.

"You weren't the only one busy stealing stuff from people… it might be old, it did work didn't it?" Caroline put her hands on her hips and grinned teasingly.

"Oh..My, My... Caroline… you impress me… but you could have stolen a better phone… that is well… not up to date" Kol came closer to Caroline wanting to get a better look at her proud face.

"Whatever" She turned back around and found that Klaus was on her face, standing in a very close proximity to her.

"So I gather you've sent this number to your friends and somehow sent numerous emails to them while we were at the airport? So sweetheart this is what you were doing when you said you were going to the ladies room to freshen up?" Klaus gripped her shoulders tightly.

"Well yeah… I was worried about them... I didn't hear from them for days" she was scared, scared of the way his eyes glared and the way his hands clasped her. Yet it was the smell of him, his blood that scared her and confused her even more.

Before Caroline could react he had snuck his hand in to her pocket and taken the phone, "So now that you know they are alive, you don't need it anymore right?" the phone flew away into oblivion as Klaus threw it behind Caroline's head.

"Why did you do that for?" her anger over took over, she tried to push him by striking her hand against his chest.

He grasped her by her arms again even more forcefully "We have far more important things to do here than to find out how your little gang of friends are doing… I didn't ask that witch to cast a concealing spell on us just for fun… I hope you didn't email your witchy friend about what we are up to… It could potentially ruin everything... "

"Don't worry I didn't tell her anything more than that I might know a way to get rid of you" however dangerous it was to stand against him, however hard it was to stare into his eyes, Caroline was not about to just throw in the towel.

"Nik!" Kol tried to pull Klaus away from her, but Klaus just raised his hand and Kol had fallen feet or two away from them.

"Just remember this Caroline, if I die you all die along with me" His chilling voice sent shock waves through her body.

Yet she managed to persevere, "We were able to get around it somehow once… we'll find another way soon... anyway, I rather die than see a world enslaved by you… that's what you want isn't it? Enslave the world that did not care for you taught you nothing but how to hate and to be hated?"

"Enough!" he released her, throwing her off balance.

"Are you Ok Caroline?" Kol had caught her before she fell on to her back.

"Yeah… I...I'm ok" Caroline steadied herself and straightened her jacket and looked up at Klaus who was standing somewhat away from her, fuming, eyes shooting darts of fire while he watched Kol tend to her.

"Let's just get going…Before Katherine escapes again" he said before he started walking along the narrow path once more.

Caroline let out a frustrated sigh. "Let's find her and get this over with"

"Yeah let's get going and may be along the way you can tell me what has been going on in the world in the beginning of the millennium… I think I would quite enjoy hearing your perspective of things" Kol was searching for a sign of a smile on Caroline's face.

"Well where shall I begin?…" she inevitably smiled at the enthusiastic Original vampire and started walking thinking of something interesting to tell him.

Talking and walking along with Kol made Caroline feel like she was walking in the hallways of Mystic Falls High, for none of what they talked about had anything to do with, supernatural beings, prophecies, body swaps and what not. He somewhat reminded her of Jeremy when he was younger, the way he was always going behind Elena, annoying her and making her laugh at the same time, he was very similarly excited over everything and nothing.

The fairly pleasant walk in the woods came to an end after a half an hour or so, when they saw Klaus signal them to be quiet, for he had spotted Katherine.

They crouched behind the bushes and watched Katherine kneel and madly drink blood from some kind of a rodent. It was apparent Katherine was not herself, she seemed shade or two paler than normal, and seemed rather frivolous as she drained the blood out of the helpless animal.

With his eyes Klaus commanded them to follow his lead and walked towards Katherine.

"Hello there Katherine" Klaus greeted with a sly smile.

She dropped the animal to the ground and stood on her feet, and was about to turn around and run, but Caroline was already barricading her path from behind. Katherine tried to throw a couple of punches her way but Caroline was fast enough to evade them. "This's for trying to feed me to those two werewolves" Caroline hit her on the face, wrestled her to the ground and managed to hold Katherine with her hands behind her back.

"You amaze me Caroline…" Kol stood smiling next to Klaus.

"Well done love" Klaus's raised eye brows and the wide smile made him look a completely different being.

Caroline could not help but give into his charming smile and smile back.

"I think you are already aware of as to why we are here" Klaus pulled Katherine ups, out of Caroline's grasp.

"I don't know what you want from me!" Katherine cried loudly, the shrill of her voice echoed within the trees for some time.

"Aww innocent Katherine knows nothing… Should I drain the vervein out of you and compel you? Or do you want me to torture it out of you… Or do you want me to just kill you once and for all for the little stunt you were trying to pull a few days ago?" Klaus threw her to Kol and paced around them, "Oh decisions…. decisions… how great it must feel to be you"

Caroline stood ready to react to anything that Katherine might try to pull, she kept her feet light and hands rested on her hips.

"I don't have the scroll with me… she took it… but the warlock managed to translate it to me before he died… and it's in there… in that Cabin over there" Katherine shifted her head and directed to a small cottage few yards to the left.

Klaus moved closer to Katherine in vampire speed. "Who is 'She'? And just what did that scroll say?"

"The slayer, the slayer took it" Katherine mumbled and if it weren't for Kol holding her, she may have fallen to the ground.

It almost made Caroline laugh. "The slayer? You mean like Buffy?"

"Who is Buffy?" Kol asked but no one seemed to care enough to answer him, for he searched for Caroline's face and his brother's but they were both intently glaring at Katherine.

"Slayer? A slayer is not supposed to be born for another hundred years!" Klaus roared as he paced back and forth.

"The dead witches have summoned her," Katherine muttered.

"So why was she was working with you?" Caroline questioned moving closer to the female vampire.

"She said she would spare my life if I help her find this very old scroll… so I thought why not… anything is better than dying… even if it meant working with your enemy" Katherine started to cough out blood and collapsed in Kol's hands.

"What's wrong with her?" Kol turned the woman in his hand to get a better look.

"It seems Katherine somehow has gotten bitten by a werewolf" Klaus came closer and lifted Katherine by her chin and inspected her frail face.

"Let's take her inside" Caroline suggested trying to lift Katherine up back to her feet.

"Yes… we'll go there…" Klaus walked ahead, letting Caroline and Kol worry about dragging Katherine to the cabin.

"Who is buffy? Is she hot?" Kol asked as he heaved the lifeless vampire over his shoulder like a sack of feathers.

"Kol, Now is not the time to brush up on your knowledge on American pop culture!" Klaus bellowed as he marched on.

"Was I talking to you my brother, I was talking to my young friend over here"Kol grinned at Caroline who was standing right next to him.

"Don't worry Kol I'll tell you all about 'Buffy the vampire slayer'," Caroline gently smiled back and began to walk towards the cabin.

"It is very careless of you to kill the owner of the Cabin Katherine, now any one can come inside, I thought you were cleverer than this…" finding that he could enter the cabin without any qualms Klaus uttered to a very unconscious Katherine.

"Are you going to give her your blood?" if she had a second more to think before the words slipped from her she may have not ever asked it, for she found herself feeling confused by the reasons as to why as she had asked it.

"I think I might have to love, if I want to know more about the slayer and where the rest of the scroll might be" Klaus went about exploring the cabin.

His answer made her feel a sharp sting within her gut and made her stare blankly at nothing. "Oh? You are?" she slurred.

"What is it Caroline? You seem bothered by something" Kol laid Katherine on the couch beside him.

"Nothing" she sighed and fell in to the leather chair next to her, her blank expression still remaining on her face.

Klaus returned with a knife, and he cut his wrist deep enough so that the blood would come flowing down.

"Here drink this" he lifted Katherine harshly by her arm and shoved his hand in to her mouth.

Caroline eagerly looked up on the way Katherine sucked on his arm, the way few drops of blood streamed down from his arm and hit the cabin floor. Everything about the scene made her mad, the way she drank, the way he gave it to her, the way those drops of blood went wasted. She could not take it any longer thus she got up and turned away.

"That's Enough" She heard Klaus command Katherine.

Caroline felt a sense of victory hearing him speak so harshly towards the sick woman lying on the couch.

The cabin was neither small nor was it something exquisite. It had three considerably large bedrooms, a kitchen and a lounge. The rustic décor was enough to give the house a warm and a welcoming feeling even in the coldest of nights.

Katherine was later placed in one of the bigger rooms of the three and Klaus wanted one of them to constantly stand guard for he believed Katherine may get up any moment and would try to escape.

They decided to take shifts and Caroline had to sit beside the wretched woman's bed for few hours before Kol came and took over.

Caroline was on her way to the room that was given to her when the cool breeze and the smell of the forest changed her mind and made her want to go outside.

She opened the front door of the cabin, went out and leaned against the wooden railing that ran around the cabin porch. She let the gentle wind hit her face and dance in her hair, indulging in the moment of serenity that she found glaring in to the starry sky.

"Caroline?" Came a voice from the right of her.

"Oh… I…I didn't know you were here…" She turned to the much accustomed English accent.

"It's a beautiful night isn't it?" Klaus's eyes were fixed on the stars as he made his way over to her and leaned against the railing the same way as her.

"hmm" She nodded slightly, "Is Katherine going to be Ok?" She watched him carefully as if she was looking for some kind of a clue to jump out of him.

"She should" his expression showed no change as he stared at the stars in awe like a child who had seen them for the very first time.

Unable to find whatever she wanted she felt defeated, and she came quite derisive "Yeah, of course the knight in shining armor saves the damsel in distress again, by sharing his blood"

He turned his eyes, his head, and his whole body towards her. "I am no knight Caroline, I never was, and I don't think I could ever be" he uttered in a low voice.

He turned so suddenly, even vampire speed failed her. For she stood there looking back without anything to say, nothing to turn to or maybe she did not want to in the first place.

She in truth wanted to say, he was wrong as he had been there for her, but she knew she would start to babble incoherently trying to explain, so she stayed quiet not wanting to ignite any further complications.

For a moment it was only the sound of the wind that prickled their ears.

She felt herself glide towards him, though she was certain she had not moved a muscle.

She saw his eyes about to swallow her whole and she decided she just could not let that be and took a step back.

"And nor Katherine a damsel in distress, she's far from it, … and nor are you" an embarrassed yet a charming smile brought out his dimpled face.

"Yeah that's true" it felt a natural reaction for her to smile and coincide with him.

"At least there's something we can agree on" he turned to the stars as if he was searching for some kind of assistance.

"Klaus," For no reason she called him.

"Yes love?" he blinked at the stars and his smile widened.

"I… Eh… I heard Kol say the other day… that there's more to blood sharing… what… what does that mean?" Some kind of madness was forcing her to ask things without thinking, she hated her demented brain and blamed it on the way he smelled, the way he stood staring above, his neck asking to be bitten, inviting her.

"Oh I see you were eavesdropping on us then?" he turned to her once more this time more self-assured.

She took one more step back and another one, seeing somehow he had moved even closer. "No I…"

"Yes… it's true… When vampires share their blood straight from the vein…" he began to explain, but she could only hear the part he said, _'Yes... it's true'_

"Oh?" She felt as if she was coming down with a fever listening to him.

He took a step forward, "It is more than just to quench the thirst, to feed the hunger, it is much more… the arousal the bond is much more, if it is the right person…"

"The right person…?" She stood frozen, every word he uttered circled for billion times in her ears before it finally settled on her brain.

"Yes, if it's the right person, the one that's feeding feels something more, an arousal that is beyond explanation, and" he paused as if just to check her reaction.

"And the one that who drinks it?" She felt her knees were almost about to give way.

"May I ask why the sudden interest? Have you started to feel something after I fed you my blood?" he said it with a smile but his prying eyes were fair proof that he was not taking it as lightly as he wanted it to look.

"Seriously? No!... Should I be?" She was a downright mess.

"Do you?" his face was narrowing down the gap between them.

She managed to move her face slightly out of the way, "No… of course not, did you?" she did not want to be the first to admit to anything.

"For us originals it is something very rare… " he spoke into her ear.

"So you didn't?" only a somber whisper came out.

"May be….. Maybe not… " he said friskily.

"I thought I heard you say… you didn't to Kol," She felt she had found a way around his tricky answer.

"If you already know my answer then why are you asking me?" Again his eyes were following hers.

"So… No? Have you ever? And Katherine?" She had to ask, she felt relieved as it came out, for that one question has been dwelling in her mind forever.

He was not as straight forward as she wanted him to be. "I told you, it's very rare… "

Her head dropped down, she could not even see her own feet, and the little light the stars had brought suddenly looked to have gone missing.

Then she heard his muted laughter, "Why are you laughing?" She was not amused to see his grinning face.

"Am I?" his laugh changed to a caring smile.

"Yes!" She said with furrowed brows.

"I think it's because I just learned something tonight…" he paused and brushed a strand of her hair away from her face, "You look very endearing when you are jealous"

She pushed his hand off, "No I don't….. I mean I am not jealous…i was just… just curious… actually I was just scared that I'd drank so much of your blood that somehow it could turn me into a hybrid or something " She said the most plausible excuse she could think of.

"Is that so … but I don't think it would be anything to be scared of love… you would make a very beautiful wolf, I have no doubts about it" He took a step back merely to run her eyes over every inch of her body, to scan every curve.

She took her chance and turned to leave. "Whatever"

"Ah the most common phrase used in the twenty first century when all other words fail you" he added smilingly.

"Whatever! "She said again with much more force and took off.

"Goodnight love" she heard him shout out as she opened the door and went back in.

"Goodnight!" she screamed out of her lungs and darted to her room, damning her stupid self for starting a conversation that led her nowhere in finding if what she was feeling could be justified, hating herself for suspecting that she could feel anything for a jerk, a prig, a man like him at all.


End file.
